TOEFL Score Converter (0–120 ↔ 1–6)

About the TOEFL Score Converter (0–120 ↔ 1–6)

TOEFL iBT score reports give each section and the overall score on a 1–6 scale in half bands. Tests taken before 21 January 2026 were scored 0–30 per section and 0–120 in total, and some university requirements are still written that way. This converter moves between the two with ETS’s own comparison table: an old section score or total to its band, and a band back to the range of old scores it compares with — a total of 100 is a 5, and a 5 covers totals from 95 to 106.

It works out the overall score the way new reports do — the average of the four section bands, rounded to the nearest half band with a quarter going up — explains the rounding for your numbers, and shows the CEFR level ETS aligns with each band. ETS’s full table sits under the result with your rows marked, so you can check every figure yourself.

How the comparison table works

Each row of ETS’s table gives, for one score on the 1–6 scale, the section scores (0–30) and the totals (0–120) it compares with. The section columns are not the same: a 26 is a 5.0 in Reading, Speaking and Writing but a 5.5 in Listening, and a 5.5 in Speaking is a 27 and nothing else. A total uses the last column — 114 and above is a 6, 107 to 113 a 5.5, 95 to 106 a 5, 86 to 94 a 4.5, 72 to 85 a 4 — and ETS notes that a total is the sum of the section scores, so the same total can come from different section scores.

The bands are not equal steps: ETS says its statistical linking does not assume equal intervals, so two half bands can cover different numbers of points on the old scale.

How the overall 1–6 score is rounded

ETS: the overall score is the average of the four section scores, rounded to the nearest half band — an average of 5.125 becomes 5.0 and an average of 5.25 becomes 5.5 (ETS’s own examples). Because every section score is a whole or half band, the average always ends in .0, .125, .25, .375, .5, .625, .75 or .875:

• .125 rounds down to .0, and .625 down to .5;
• .25 rounds up to .5, and .75 up to the next whole band;
• .375 rounds up to .5, and .875 up to the next whole band.

The band of an old total and the overall band of its four sections can differ. Reading 28, Listening 28, Speaking 25 and Writing 24 add up to 105, which is in the 5 row — but the four section bands, 5.5, 6, 5 and 5, average 5.375, which rounds to an overall 5.5. A new report works from the sections, so the converter shows both and says which is which.

CEFR levels

ETS aligns the 1–6 scale with the Common European Framework of Reference: 6 is C2, 5.5 and 5 are C1, 4.5 and 4 are B2, 3.5 and 3 are B1, 2.5 and 2 are A2, and 1.5 and 1 are A1. The same holds for every section, so a 5 in Speaking is C1 for speaking.

Requirements written on the other scale

ETS’s advice to universities: a requirement of 100 on the old scale corresponds to a 5, 90 to a 4.5 and 80 to a 4. Because a band covers a range — 95 to 106 for a 5 — some scores in the band are lower than the old requirement, which is why ETS suggests setting section requirements as well as an overall one.

For a two-year transition, new score reports also give a comparable 0–120 total (the middle of the band’s range), so ETS says there is nothing to convert on an official report. Where you compare an old report with a new requirement, or a new score with an old requirement, the table is the guide — and the institution’s own page decides.

TOEFL and IELTS

For institutions that accept both tests, ETS publishes an alignment of IELTS bands with TOEFL 1–6 scores — for the total, IELTS 7 sits beside TOEFL 5, IELTS 6.5 beside 4.5 and IELTS 6 beside 4, while IELTS 8, 8.5 and 9 all sit beside 6. It is ETS’s comparison of the two scales, not a conversion of your own result; the converter shows it in a table under the result. For an IELTS overall band from four section bands, use the IELTS band score calculator.

Sources

• ETS, Understanding your TOEFL iBT scores — the 1–6 scale, the rounding rule and the comparison table
• ETS score-user help, How to set score requirements for the updated TOEFL scale (1–6) — CEFR levels and the IELTS alignment
• ETS score-user help, TOEFL iBT score scale update: what you need to know — the rounding examples, 5.125 to 5.0 and 5.25 to 5.5
• ETS score-user help, Frequently asked questions: TOEFL score scale change — requirements of 100, 90 and 80, and measurement error

Limitations

• A comparison table is a guide, not a prediction: ETS says it cannot give the exact score a person would get on the other scale, and puts the measurement error on the 0–120 scale at about four points.
• It compares scores of tests taken before 21 January 2026 with the 1–6 scale. New-scale reports already show both formats.
• Universities and visa bodies set their own requirements and may treat old scores differently — their own page is what counts.
• The converter is for TOEFL iBT scores.

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