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Academic English test for university admission, redesigned in January 2026 with adaptive sections and a 1-6 band scale
Set by ETS
Free to start · 23 lessons · 2 mock exams · about 26 h of study
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The TOEFL iBT is ETS’s academic English test. More than 13,500 institutions in over 160 countries accept it for undergraduate and graduate admission, scholarships, professional registration and many visa routes. Since 21 January 2026 it has been a shorter, redesigned test. It takes about 90 minutes of timed testing across Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking. Reading and Listening are multistage adaptive, and the task types are new: Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life, Build a Sentence, Write an Email, Listen and Repeat and Take an Interview.
Each section is scored 1–6 in half bands and aligned to the CEFR. The overall score is the average of the four sections, rounded to the nearest 0.5. A top result of 6 (C2) needs near-perfect Reading and Listening plus 5s on almost every Writing and Speaking response. A 5.5 (about 107–113 on the old 0–120 scale) meets the requirement of virtually every university in the world.
Courselo follows the official 2026 ETS blueprint in 5 units and 23 focused lessons. They cover every task type, the sub-skills ETS measures, and the grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation that the Writing and Speaking scores reward. Topic banks use the real item styles. Writing and Speaking are AI-graded against paraphrased versions of the official score-point descriptions. A diagnostic and a full-length mock timed like the real test show where you lose bands. Your plan then drills those tasks until every section reaches 5.5–6.
Format
1 h 30 min in total · 4 sections
Everyone first takes a routing module. How you perform there selects an easier or a harder second module, and only the harder module gives access to the top bands. There are three task types. In Complete the Words, you type the missing second half of 10 words in each 70–100-word academic paragraph. In Read in Daily Life, you answer 2–3 questions on each 15–150-word everyday text, such as a notice, menu, schedule, form, email or text-message chain. In Read an Academic Passage, you answer 5 questions on each ~200-word expository passage. Texts stay on screen while you answer.
Scoring
Band 1–6
Top marks — Courselo target
C2, the top band (comparable to 114–120). It needs a section average of at least 5.75, for example 6/6/5.5/5.5 or 6/6/6/5. On Courselo mocks that means about 93%+ in Reading and Listening, 19+/20 raw in Writing and 53+/55 raw in Speaking.
Syllabus
5 units · 23 topics · about 26 h of lessons and core practice
≈ 10%1 h 30 min
A C-test-style task that supplies about 30 of the 50 Reading items. A 70–100-word academic paragraph keeps its first sentence intact. From the second sentence on, the second half of every second word is removed, and you type the missing letters. Each paragraph has 10 gaps. The task tests word knowledge, spelling, grammatical cues and reading for meaning all at once.
Your course
AI-generated · reviewedParts of this course are generated from the official specification the first time they’re needed, then checked and kept.
Lessons
23
One for every syllabus topic, generated from the official specification and checked
Practice questions
Adaptive
Generated for each topic as you practise, checked before you see them, each with an explanation
Mock exams
2
Questions
The test was redesigned. It is now about 90 minutes instead of about 2 hours, and Reading and Listening are multistage adaptive. Almost every task is new: Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life, short Academic Passages, Listen and Choose a Response, announcements, Build a Sentence, Write an Email, Listen and Repeat and Take an Interview. Scores moved to a 1–6 band scale. The old 700-word reading passages, long lectures, Integrated Writing task and four integrated or independent Speaking tasks are gone. Write for an Academic Discussion is the only task that carried over unchanged. Older books still help with vocabulary and academic listening, but practise only the current task types and timing.
Each section gets a band from 1 to 6 in half-band steps. The overall score is the average of the four sections, rounded to the nearest half band: 5.125 becomes 5, 5.25 becomes 5.5 and 5.75 becomes 6. The top score is . It needs an average of at least 5.75, for example 6/6/5.5/5.5 or 6/6/6/5. Courselo’s target is 6, and 5.5 already meets virtually any university requirement.
Set a target and a test date. You’ll take a diagnostic, see a predicted score with its range, and get a plan for every week until the exam.
Question types
Item counts come from the ETS 2026 blueprint: Complete the Words 30, Read in Daily Life 5–15, Read an Academic Passage 5–15, 50 in total including unscored pretest items. Every scored item is worth 1 point, and there is no penalty for a wrong answer. ETS estimates the section at about 27–30 minutes, depending on the second module.
Uses the same routing design as Reading. There are four task types. In Listen and Choose a Response, you hear one short question or statement, which is not shown on screen, and choose the best of four printed replies. In Listen to a Conversation, you answer 2 questions on each short two-person conversation. In Listen to an Announcement, you hear a 40–85-word classroom or campus announcement. In Listen to an Academic Talk, you hear a 100–250-word talk, lecture or podcast and answer 4 questions. Each recording plays once, with a picture of the speaker(s). Voices include North American, British and Australian accents.
Question types
Item ranges come from the ETS 2026 blueprint and include unscored pretest items. All items are single-answer, four-option multiple choice worth 1 point. ETS practice materials state that the clock counts down only while you answer, not while audio plays. Notes are allowed. ETS estimates the section at about 25–29 minutes, depending on the second module.
Linear: everyone gets the same tasks. In Build a Sentence (10 items), you drag words and phrases into order to complete a reply in a short written exchange. In Write an Email (7 minutes), you write to a named person in an academic or social situation and cover three required points. In Write for an Academic Discussion (10 minutes), you read a professor’s question and two classmates’ posts, then post and support your own opinion. An effective post contains at least 100 words.
Question types
The raw total is 20: Build a Sentence gives 10 points, and the email and discussion post are scored 0–5 each. Each task is separately timed and unused time does not carry over. Write for an Academic Discussion is the only task carried over unchanged from the pre-2026 test.
Linear. In Listen and Repeat, you work through one academic or campus scenario shown with an illustration. You hear 7 sentences one at a time and repeat each one exactly, with 8–12 seconds to respond, and the sentences grow longer and more complex. In Take an Interview, a prerecorded interviewer asks 4 questions on one topic, such as a research study or a scholarship interview. You have 45 seconds to answer each question and no preparation time. The first questions ask about your experiences, and the later ones ask for opinions on broader issues.
Question types
Each of the 11 responses is scored 0–5, for a raw total of 55. Listen and Repeat therefore supplies 35 of the 55 raw points. You speak into a headset microphone. ETS AI scoring evaluates the responses, and ETS states that certified human raters are also used. Score reviews are carried out by human scoring specialists.
Delivery. Computer-delivered in English, either at an authorised test centre or at home as the TOEFL iBT Home Edition, with a live human proctor plus AI monitoring. At a test centre, scratch paper and pencils are provided. At home, you may use one small whiteboard with an erasable marker, or one blank sheet in a transparent sheet protector with an erasable marker. The TOEFL iBT Paper Edition ended in January 2024. A separate TOEFL iBT Australia test, taken at a test centre, is the only TOEFL accepted for Australian visas.
The updated TOEFL iBT (from 21 January 2026) has four sections taken in one sitting in a fixed order, with no scheduled break:
Reading and Listening are multistage adaptive. Everyone starts with a routing module. Your performance there selects an easier or a harder second module, and only the harder module gives access to the top bands. As a result, the exact number of items and the time can vary slightly (ETS estimates 1 h 23 min – 1 h 29 min of testing in total). Some Reading and Listening items are unscored pretest items and are not identified. Writing and Speaking are linear: everyone who takes a given form gets the same tasks, and each task has its own timer.
Reading and Listening items are selected-response items worth 1 point each, with no penalty for guessing. The two written responses and the 11 spoken responses are each scored 0–5 by ETS AI scoring, with certified human raters also involved. Each section is reported on a 1–6 band scale in half bands. The overall score is the average of the four, rounded to the nearest half band. You may take notes throughout the test. There is no calculator.
Band 6.0
Elite programmes
Upper C1 (comparable to 107–113, about IELTS 7.5). Meets the requirement of virtually every university, including the most selective graduate programmes. Check any section minimums.
Band 5.5
Competitive universities
C1 (comparable to 95–106, about IELTS 7). ETS equates an old 100 with a 5. This is a common requirement for selective universities and many professional registrations.
Band 5.0
Typical university entry
Upper B2 (comparable to 86–94, about IELTS 6.5). ETS equates an old 90 with 4.5.
Band 4.5
B2 minimum
B2 (comparable to 72–85, about IELTS 6). ETS equates an old 80 with 4. A common minimum for undergraduate admission.
Band 4.0
How ETS scores the updated test. Each section is reported on a 1–6 scale in half bands.
ETS converts performance to bands with statistical scaling that it does not publish.
Overall score. The overall score is the average of the four section bands, rounded to the nearest half band. An average ending in .25 rounds up and one ending in .125 rounds down: 5.125 → 5, 5.25 → 5.5, 5.75 → 6. It maps to the CEFR as follows: 6 = C2, 5–5.5 = C1, 4–4.5 = B2, 3–3.5 = B1, 2–2.5 = A2, 1–1.5 = A1. Until January 2028, score reports also show a comparable total on the old 0–120 scale: 6 ≈ 114–120, 5.5 ≈ 107–113, 5 ≈ 95–106, 4.5 ≈ 86–94, 4 ≈ 72–85. Reports also include MyBest scores, which combine your best section scores from all valid tests in the last 2 years.
How Courselo estimates your band. Courselo mocks are fixed-form versions of the routing module followed by the harder second module, and every item counts. The curves below are realistic estimates, not ETS tables. Each shows the minimum share of marks for a section band:
What the targets mean. An overall 6 requires an average of at least 5.75: at least two 6s with two 5.5s, or three 6s with a 5. In practice that means almost no Reading or Listening errors, 5s on both written tasks and nearly all Speaking responses, and no weak section. Aim for 5.5+ in every section on two consecutive mocks before booking, and keep training until you reach 6.
| Band | From |
|---|---|
| 6 — C2CEFR C2. Comparable to 114–120 on the old scale and to IELTS 8–9. Understands virtually everything read or heard, and writes and speaks precisely and fluently with only rare slips. | 6+ |
| 5.5 — C1Upper C1. Comparable to 107–113 (about IELTS 7.5). Handles complex academic texts and talks with ease. Writing and speaking are clear and well developed, with few errors. | 5.5+ |
| 5 — C1CEFR C1. Comparable to 95–106 (about IELTS 7). Understands detailed and implicit meaning and expresses nuanced ideas effectively, with occasional errors. | 5+ |
| 4.5 — B2Upper B2. Comparable to 86–94 (about IELTS 6.5). Follows most academic and everyday English and communicates clearly, with noticeable but non-blocking errors. | 4.5+ |
| 4 — B2CEFR B2. Comparable to 72–85 (about IELTS 6). Reads and listens independently on familiar and some abstract topics and writes and speaks with reasonable clarity. | 4+ |
| 3.5 — B1Upper B1. Comparable to 58–71. Understands the main points of clear, standard texts and speech. Writing and speaking are understandable but limited in range and accuracy. | 3.5+ |
| 3 — B1 |
≈ 4.5%1 h 5 min
Short non-academic texts of about 15–150 words, each followed by 2–3 four-option questions. The texts include posters, signs and notices, ads, menus, schedules, forms, invoices and receipts, emails, text-message chains, social media posts, web pages and news items. The questions test scanning, purpose, telegraphic and informal language, and inference in real-world formats.
≈ 4%1 h 10 min
Short expository passages of about 200 words, each followed by 5 four-option questions. Topics come from history, art and music, business and economics, life science, physical science and social science, and no background knowledge is needed. This topic covers the literal and vocabulary questions: main idea, factual detail, negative factual, reference and vocabulary in context.
≈ 3.5%1 h 15 min
The higher-level Academic Passage questions that separate a 5 from a 6. They ask what is implied but not stated, why the author includes a sentence, example or study, how ideas relate (cause and effect, contrast, concession, example), and how all or part of the passage is organised.
About 5 h of study, lessons and core practice
≈ 7%1 h 15 min
The largest Listening task, with about 15–19 items. You hear one short question or statement on a campus-life topic. It is not shown on screen, and you choose the most appropriate of four printed replies. The task tests question forms, formulaic phrases, indirect answers, intonation and implied meaning.
≈ 5%1 h 10 min
Short two-person conversations on everyday and campus topics such as dining, social activities, education, services, health, housing, shopping, communications and travel. Each is followed by 2 four-option questions on the main idea, details, speaker purpose, implied meaning and what the speakers will do next.
≈ 3.5%50 min
Announcements of about 40–85 words, made in a classroom or at a school-related event, in person or broadcast. They cover schedules, directions, rules and regulations, events, deadlines and student achievements. The questions, usually 2 per announcement, ask about the purpose, key details, implied meaning and what listeners should do.
≈ 3.5%1 h 10 min
Short academic talks of about 100–250 words, such as lectures, class talks, podcasts and presentations. Topics come from history, art and music, life and physical science, business and economics and social science. Each talk is followed by 4 four-option questions. This topic covers topic and main-idea questions, key terms and definitions, and supporting details.
≈ 3%1 h 10 min
The hardest Listening questions. They ask why the speaker mentions something, how the talk is organised, what the speaker implies or recommends, the speaker’s attitude or certainty, and the meaning of less common, colloquial or idiomatic vocabulary in academic speech.
About 5 h 35 min of study, lessons and core practice
≈ 4.5%1 h
Ten 1-point items. Each shows one speaker’s sentence and a partly fixed reply, and you drag word and phrase chunks into the right order to complete the reply. One extra chunk may not fit. This topic covers the core word-order rules: direct and embedded questions, auxiliaries and negatives, adverb position, and phrasal verbs and fixed chunks.
≈ 4%1 h 5 min
The harder Build a Sentence items, where the reply contains a relative clause, a passive, a perfect or continuous form, a conditional, a comparative, or a participle or infinitive phrase. The key to accuracy is finding the main subject and verb first and then attaching the modifiers correctly, within about 35–40 seconds per item.
≈ 4.5%1 h 15 min
One email in 7 minutes, scored 0–5. A short academic or social scenario asks you to write to a named person, such as a professor, editor, manager, landlord or club organiser, and do three specified things. Examples include describing a problem, making a recommendation, extending an invitation or proposing a solution. The score reflects communicative success, elaboration, social conventions and language control.
≈ 2.5%45 min
The social-convention and language layer of the email score. It covers choosing a formal, semi-formal or informal register, and the phrases for requesting, apologising, complaining, thanking, inviting, recommending, refusing and suggesting, with the tone and directness each relationship calls for.
≈ 3.5%1 h
One 10-minute post, scored 0–5, in an online class forum. A professor frames a topic and asks a question, and two classmates give different views. You add your own opinion and support it in your own words. This topic covers reading the prompt quickly, choosing a position you can defend, engaging with classmates without copying them, and structuring the post.
≈ 3%1 h 5 min
What turns a 3 into a 5: relevant, well-developed explanations and examples, precise and idiomatic word choice, varied sentence structures and nearly error-free language in about 120–180 words. Covers reason, explanation and example chains, cohesion, hedging, and the common errors made under time pressure.
About 6 h 10 min of study, lessons and core practice
≈ 9%1 h 30 min
Seven sentences set in one campus or academic scenario and shown with an illustration, such as training to welcome zoo visitors or a library orientation. You hear each sentence once and repeat it exactly, with about 8–12 seconds to record. The sentences grow from one short clause to long sentences with relative clauses and complex noun phrases. Each response is scored 0–5 for accuracy and intelligibility, so this task supplies 35 of the 55 Speaking raw points.
≈ 4%1 h
The first questions of the four-question simulated interview (45 seconds each, no preparation time). They ask about facts, habits and personal experience within a scenario such as a research study or a scholarship interview. This topic covers answering directly, narrating a past experience with relevant detail and filling 45 seconds naturally.
≈ 4.5%1 h 10 min
The later interview questions ask you to state and support an opinion on a broader social, academic or policy issue linked to the scenario, for example whether cities should create more parks. This topic covers a fast opinion structure, reasons with examples, acknowledging the other side, and speaking for 45 seconds with no preparation.
≈ 4.5%1 h
The delivery skills behind both Speaking tasks: intelligible sounds and word stress, sentence stress and rhythm, intonation, linking and reductions, speaking pace, and control of pauses and fillers. Clear, well-paced speech matters because ETS AI scoring measures delivery features directly.
About 4 h 40 min of study, lessons and core practice
≈ 4%1 h 20 min
The vocabulary base behind Complete the Words, vocabulary-in-context questions, Build a Sentence and the range judgements in Writing and Speaking. It covers high-frequency academic words, word families and affixes, collocations, and topic vocabulary for the subject areas and campus situations the test uses.
≈ 4%1 h 20 min
The grammar that Build a Sentence, Listen and Repeat and the email, discussion and interview scores reward. It covers verb tense and aspect, subject–verb agreement, articles and determiners, countable and uncountable nouns, dependent prepositions, verb patterns and sentence punctuation that prevents run-ons and fragments.
≈ 2%50 min
The informal and spoken features that trip up strong readers: common idioms and phrasal verbs, colloquial replies, reductions and linking at natural speed, and the North American, British and Australian accents the test uses, delivered by both AI-generated and human voices.
≈ 2%45 min
How the 2026 test works and how to manage it. It covers the multistage adaptive Reading and Listening (a routing module, then an easier or harder second module), section and task timing, note-taking rules, having no scheduled break, answering every item, and reading the score report, CEFR level and MyBest scores.
About 4 h 15 min of study, lessons and core practice
1 diagnostic · 1 full-length, timed and scored like the real test
Strategy guides
7
Pacing, section strategy and test-day guides
Free to start
Every lesson and guide is free, with 40 practice questions a day and the diagnostic. Pro removes the limits.
Compare plansAccording to ETS’s concordance for the overall score, 6 ≈ 114–120, 5.5 ≈ 107–113, 5 ≈ 95–106, 4.5 ≈ 86–94 and 4 ≈ 72–85. ETS equates an old 100 with 5, 90 with 4.5 and 80 with 4. Against IELTS, an overall 6 ≈ IELTS 8–9, 5.5 ≈ 7.5, 5 ≈ 7, 4.5 ≈ 6.5 and 4 ≈ 6. Until January 2028, every score report also shows a comparable 0–120 total, because some institutions still publish requirements on the old scale.
Each section starts with a routing module that everyone takes. Your accuracy there decides whether your second module is easier or harder, and only the harder path can lead to the top bands. So the first part of each section matters most: work carefully, answer every item (there is no penalty for guessing), and do not rush the early Complete the Words and Listen and Choose a Response items. Some items are unscored trial items that you cannot identify, so treat every item as scored.
Build a Sentence items are right or wrong (1 point each, 10 in total). The email and the Academic Discussion post are each scored 0–5, as is each of the 11 Speaking responses (7 Listen and Repeat and 4 interview answers). ETS uses AI scoring engines and says certified human raters are also part of the process. The raw totals (Writing 0–20, Speaking 0–55) are converted to 1–6 bands. For a fee, you can request a human review of Speaking or Writing within 30 days, as long as you have not yet sent scores to an institution.
Not at present. The 2026–27 ETS bulletin says only tests taken before 21 January 2026 and the separate TOEFL iBT Australia test are approved for Australian visa purposes. TOEFL iBT Australia must be taken at an authorised test centre. Australian universities and other countries’ immigration authorities set their own rules, so check with the organisation receiving your scores. Courselo prepares you for the global updated TOEFL iBT.
Unofficial Reading and Listening scores appear on screen when you finish, and official scores are posted about 3 days later. Scores are valid for 2 years, and your report includes MyBest scores (your best section scores from the last 2 years). You can retake as many times as you like, but not more than once in any 3-day period. Retake Courselo’s full mock first and book again when every section is at 5.5 or higher.
Both give the same test and scores. The Home Edition needs a private room, a computer that passes the equipment check, a webcam, a headset or speakers with a microphone, and either one small whiteboard with an erasable marker or one sheet of paper in a transparent sheet protector for notes. A live proctor watches the whole session. At a test centre, scratch paper, pencils and a headset are provided. Choose a centre if your room or internet connection is unreliable, or if you need scores for an Australian visa.
| 3+ |
| 2.5 — A2Upper A2. Comparable to 34–43. Understands short, simple texts and messages on familiar topics. | 2.5+ |
|---|
| 2 — A2CEFR A2. Comparable to 24–33. Handles simple, routine information and basic exchanges. | 2+ |
|---|
| 1.5 — A1Upper A1. Comparable to 12–23. Recognises familiar words and very basic phrases. | 1.5+ |
|---|
| 1 — A1CEFR A1 or below. Comparable to 0–11. Very limited ability to understand or produce English. | 1+ |
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