How the IELTS Band Score Is Calculated (Reading and Listening Conversion Explained)
One of the most common questions from IELTS candidates is a simple one: how is my band score actually calculated? Understanding the scoring system helps you set realistic targets, know how many questions you need to get right, and avoid nasty surprises on results day.
The Nine-Band Scale
IELTS reports results on a scale from Band 1 (non-user) to Band 9 (expert user), in half-band increments (6.0, 6.5, 7.0, and so on). You receive a separate band for each of the four skills, Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking, plus an overall band score.
How the Overall Score Is Worked Out
Your overall band is the average of the four skill bands, rounded to the nearest half band. The rounding rule catches many people out:
- If the average ends in .25, it rounds up to the next half band.
- If the average ends in .75, it rounds up to the next whole band.
- Averages below .25 round down; between .25 and .75 round to the half band.
For example, Listening 6.5, Reading 6.5, Writing 5.0, and Speaking 7.0 average to 6.25, which rounds up to an overall 6.5. But Listening 6.5, Reading 6.0, Writing 5.0, Speaking 6.0 average to 5.875, which rounds up to 6.0. A single half band in one skill can move your overall result.
Reading and Listening: Raw Score to Band
Listening and Reading each have 40 questions, and each correct answer is worth one raw mark. That raw score out of 40 is then converted to a band. The exact conversion varies slightly between test versions, but the widely published approximate guide is as follows.
Listening (Academic and General Training)
- 39 to 40 correct: Band 9
- 37 to 38: Band 8.5
- 35 to 36: Band 8
- 32 to 34: Band 7.5
- 30 to 31: Band 7
- 26 to 29: Band 6.5
- 23 to 25: Band 6
- 18 to 22: Band 5.5
- 16 to 17: Band 5
Academic Reading
- 39 to 40 correct: Band 9
- 37 to 38: Band 8.5
- 35 to 36: Band 8
- 33 to 34: Band 7.5
- 30 to 32: Band 7
- 27 to 29: Band 6.5
- 23 to 26: Band 6
- 19 to 22: Band 5.5
- 15 to 18: Band 5
General Training Reading
The General Training Reading passages are more accessible, so you need more correct answers for the same band. For instance, a Band 6 typically requires around 27 correct answers (versus 23 for Academic), and a Band 7 requires around 34. This is why you cannot compare Academic and General Training raw scores directly.
Writing and Speaking: Judged Against Descriptors
Writing and Speaking are not converted from a raw count. Instead, trained examiners award a band for each of four criteria and average them. For Writing these are Task Achievement/Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. For Speaking they are Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation. Our guide to the IELTS Writing Questions section and our Band 7 Writing Task 2 structure article break these criteria down in detail.
Using the Numbers to Plan
Once you know the conversions, you can set concrete targets. If you need an overall 7.0, work out which skills you can realistically push higher to lift your average. Because Reading and Listening are scored objectively, they are often the fastest skills to improve, get in enough correct answers and the band follows automatically.
Put the theory into practice with authentic material on our Reading and Listening pages, and use our guide to the most common Listening traps to convert near-misses into the extra marks that move you up a band.