IELTS Next IELTS band scores: how every number on your TRF is calculated
Overall band, skill bands, raw-score conversions, the rounding rule that works in your favour, and where the cheapest half band hides. Everything on one page, with the approximate official tables.
How your overall band is calculated
Each of the four skills — Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking — gets its own band from 0 to 9, in half steps. Your overall band is the mean of the four, rounded to the nearest half band. The rounding rule surprises people, in a good way:
- An average ending in .25 rounds UP to the next half band. L7.0 + R6.5 + W6.5 + S7.0 = average 6.75 → overall 7.0.
- An average ending in .75 rounds UP to the next whole band. 7.5 + 7.5 + 7.0 + 7.0 = average 7.25 → overall 7.5.
L 6.5 · R 6.0 · W 6.0 · S 6.5 → mean 6.25 → overall 6.5. One extra half band in a single skill can move your whole certificate.
Two consequences worth planning around. First, a weak skill drags less than people fear — the mean absorbs it. Second, if your average sits at .25 or .75, the cheapest half band anywhere on the sheet lifts the overall. That is usually Listening or Reading, because those bands come from raw marks, not an examiner's judgement.
Listening: raw score → band
Listening has 40 questions, one mark each, no negative marking. The same conversion applies to Academic and General Training. These figures are approximate — each test version is calibrated slightly differently:
| Correct answers (of 40) | Band |
|---|---|
| 39–40 | 9.0 |
| 37–38 | 8.5 |
| 35–36 | 8.0 |
| 32–34 | 7.5 |
| 30–31 | 7.0 |
| 26–29 | 6.5 |
| 23–25 | 6.0 |
| 18–22 | 5.5 |
| 16–17 | 5.0 |
| 13–15 | 4.5 |
| 10–12 | 4.0 |
Reading: raw score → band (Academic and GT differ)
Reading also has 40 questions worth one mark each — but the conversion depends on which test you sit. General Training passages are easier, so the scale demands more correct answers for the same band:
| Band | Academic Reading (of 40) | General Training Reading (of 40) |
|---|---|---|
| 9.0 | 39–40 | 40 |
| 8.5 | 37–38 | 39 |
| 8.0 | 35–36 | 37–38 |
| 7.5 | 33–34 | 36 |
| 7.0 | 30–32 | 34–35 |
| 6.5 | 27–29 | 32–33 |
| 6.0 | 23–26 | 30–31 |
| 5.5 | 19–22 | 27–29 |
| 5.0 | 15–18 | 23–26 |
A GT candidate needs 34–35 correct for Band 7.0; an Academic candidate needs about 30. If you are switching between test types, recalibrate your practice-test expectations — the same raw score is a different band.
Writing and Speaking: criteria, not raw marks
There is no conversion table for Writing and Speaking. An examiner scores four criteria, each worth 25%, and the criterion bands average to the skill band:
- Writing: Task Achievement/Response · Coherence & Cohesion · Lexical Resource · Grammatical Range & Accuracy. Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1 — roughly (Task 1 + 2 × Task 2) ÷ 3.
- Speaking: Fluency & Coherence · Lexical Resource · Grammatical Range & Accuracy · Pronunciation.
Criterion averages can produce .25 and .75 values, which round using the same upward rule. Practical reading: a 6/6/7/7 Writing profile is a 6.5, and pulling one more criterion to 7 makes the skill 7.0. This is why criterion-level feedback beats a single overall number — it tells you which quarter of the mark to work on.
IELTS bands ↔ CEFR levels
Universities and immigration bodies sometimes state requirements in CEFR terms. The official alignment:
| CEFR level | IELTS bands | Rough meaning |
|---|---|---|
| C2 | 8.5–9.0 | Mastery — effortless, precise English |
| C1 | 7.0–8.0 | Advanced — operational command, occasional slips |
| B2 | 5.5–6.5 | Upper-intermediate — independent user |
| B1 | 4.0–5.0 | Intermediate — limited but functional |
This is why a UK Skilled Worker visa (B1) asks for 4.0s while degree-level study (B2) starts at 5.5 — the visa levels are CEFR levels wearing IELTS numbers. Full details by route: UK visas, university admission.
Half-band strategy: where the cheap marks live
When you need a specific overall band, work backwards from the table above:
- Need overall 7.0? You do not need four 7.0s. 7.5 + 7.0 + 6.5 + 6.5 averages 6.875 → 7.0. Push your strongest skill up rather than dragging your weakest.
- One skill minimums change everything. Nursing boards and some visas set per-skill floors — then the averaging trick stops working and every skill must clear its bar. Check your route's guide before planning.
- Listening and Reading move fastest. They are technique-heavy and objectively marked: two or three more correct answers is half a band. Writing moves slowest — it needs a feedback loop, not just repetition.
The app scores every practice test on these exact scales and tracks all four bands over time — so you can see precisely which half band is closest and aim your study time at it.
Know your number before test day
IELTS Next scores your practice on the same band scales in this guide — instantly for Listening and Reading, examiner-criteria AI for Writing and Speaking. No guessing what your essay is worth.
Free to start · no card requiredFrequently asked questions
How is the overall IELTS band score calculated?
It is the mean of your four skill bands, rounded to the nearest half band — and averages ending in .25 or .75 round UP. L7.0, R6.5, W6.5, S7.0 averages 6.75 and becomes overall 7.0.
How many correct answers is Band 7 in Listening?
About 30 of 40 (approximate — it varies slightly by test version). Band 8 needs about 35. There is no negative marking, so never leave a blank.
How many correct answers is Band 7 in Reading?
About 30–32 of 40 on Academic; about 34–35 of 40 on General Training, because GT passages are easier and the scale compensates. The two tests are not interchangeable for practice scoring.
Is 6.75 rounded up or down in IELTS?
Up. IELTS rounds to the nearest half band and both .25 and .75 averages round upward — 6.25 becomes 6.5 and 6.75 becomes 7.0. The rounding never works against you.
What CEFR level is IELTS 6.5?
B2, at its top end. C1 begins at IELTS 7.0. That boundary is why so many university and professional requirements sit exactly at 6.5 or 7.0 — they are CEFR thresholds expressed in IELTS bands.