How Is the IELTS Score Calculated? Bands, Rounding and CEFR

Your overall IELTS score is the average of your four section bands, which are Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. The four bands are added together and divided by 4. The result is then rounded to the nearest half band, for example 6.5 or 7.0. Two special rounding rules can lift your final score, so they are worth knowing.

How is the overall IELTS band score calculated?

Your overall band is the average of your four section scores. Here is the method, step by step. First, you get a separate band for Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. Next, you add the four bands together. Then you divide the total by 4. Last, you round the result to the nearest half band. The formula is simple: Overall = (Listening + Reading + Writing + Speaking) / 4. The table below shows real examples taken from the official IELTS guidance.

Listening	Reading	Writing	Speaking	Average of 4	Overall band
6.5	6.5	5.0	7.0	6.25	6.5 (rounded up)
6.5	6.5	5.5	6.0	6.125	6.0 (rounded down)
4.0	3.5	4.0	4.0	3.875	4.0

You can check this method on the official ielts.org scoring page, or let our band score calculator do the maths for you.

How is each section score calculated (Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking)?

The four sections are scored in two different ways. Listening and Reading use a raw mark out of 40. Writing and Speaking use four marking criteria each.

Listening and Reading

Each test has 40 questions. You get 1 mark for each correct answer. Your raw mark out of 40 is then changed into a band from 0 to 9. The exact marks needed for each band can change a little between test versions. Listening uses the same scale for Academic and General Training. Reading is different. In General Training Reading you need more correct answers for the same band.

Writing

An examiner marks your Writing on four criteria. These are Task Achievement (for Task 1) or Task Response (for Task 2), Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy. The four criteria carry equal weight. But your two tasks do not. Task 2 counts more than Task 1 in your final Writing band, so a weak essay can pull your Writing score down.

Speaking

An examiner marks your Speaking on four criteria too. These are Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation. Each criterion is worth 25 percent. The four are averaged to give your Speaking band. You can read the official criteria on the ielts.org scoring page.

Are IELTS scores rounded up or down? Is 6.75 rounded to 7?

Yes, an average of 6.75 is rounded up to band 7. IELTS rounds your average to the nearest half band, with two special rules. If your average ends in .25, it is rounded up to the next half band. If it ends in .75, it is rounded up to the next whole band. Any other average is rounded to the nearest half band, which can be up or down. The rounding rule is the part that surprises people most, so it is worth understanding before you set your target.

Average of 4 sections	Overall band	Why
6.25	6.5	Ends in .25, so it rounds up to the next half band
6.75	7.0	Ends in .75, so it rounds up to the next whole band
6.125	6.0	Below .25, so it rounds down
6.625	6.5	Closer to 6.5 than to 7.0, so it rounds down
6.875	7.0	Closer to 7.0 than to 6.5, so it rounds up

So an average of 6.125 rounds down to band 6.0, while 6.25 rounds up to band 6.5. Small gains in one section can change your final band, so every quarter of a band counts.

What is 27, 30 or 35 out of 40 in IELTS Reading?

As a typical guide, in Academic Reading about 27 out of 40 is band 6.5, about 30 out of 40 is band 7, and about 35 out of 40 is band 8. These marks are a guide only. The exact number needed for each band changes a little between test versions, so treat the table below as typical, not fixed.

Band	Listening (out of 40)	Academic Reading (out of 40)
5.0	about 16	about 15
6.0	about 23	about 23
6.5	about 26	about 27
7.0	about 30	about 30
7.5	about 32	about 33
8.0	about 35	about 35
9.0	about 39	about 39

General Training Reading needs more correct answers for the same band. For example, you usually need about 30 out of 40 for band 6 and about 34 out of 40 for band 7. To build your score, practise with full Reading and Listening tests and track your raw marks. The official position is set out on the ielts.org scoring page.

What is IELTS 6.5 or 7.5 equal to in CEFR (A1 to C2)?

IELTS band 6.5 maps to CEFR level B2, and IELTS band 7.5 maps to CEFR level C1. The CEFR is the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. It describes English ability in six levels, from A1 (basic) to C2 (mastery). The table below shows how IELTS bands line up with the main CEFR levels.

CEFR level	IELTS band
B1 (independent user, lower)	4.0 - 5.0
B2 (independent user, upper)	5.5 - 6.5
C1 (proficient user)	7.0 - 8.0
C2 (proficient user, mastery)	8.5 - 9.0

There is an important detail here. IELTS band 6.5 is B2, but it sits right at the edge of C1. Official IELTS guidance says the C1 threshold falls between bands 6.5 and 7.0. So an institution that wants to be sure of C1 may ask for band 7.0 instead of 6.5. At the top of the scale, band 8 is borderline, and bands 8.5 and 9 are recognised as C2. You can read the official alignment on the ielts.org IELTS and the CEFR page.

Is IELTS 5.5 a B1 or B2 level?

IELTS band 5.5 is CEFR level B2, not B1. It sits at the lower end of B2. CEFR level B1 maps to about IELTS band 4.0 to 5.0. So if a course or visa asks for B1, a band 4.0 to 5.0 usually meets it, and a band 5.5 is already one level higher at B2.

In short: how your IELTS score is built

1. Each section gets a band from 0 to 9.
2. The four bands are added and divided by 4.
3. The average is rounded to the nearest half band.
4. Averages ending in .25 or .75 always round up.
5. Listening and Reading come from a raw mark out of 40.
6. Writing and Speaking come from four marking criteria each.

Common mistakes about IELTS scoring

Now you know how the maths works. The fastest way to plan your target is to test yourself, check your raw marks, and work out your overall band. Take a free IELTS practice test, then use the band score calculator to see where you stand.

Frequently asked questions