The TOEFL iBT test from January 2026
A shorter, adaptive test
- From January 2026 the TOEFL iBT is adaptive: it adjusts to your ability level.
- ETS asks you to allow about two hours; time and items may vary as the test adapts.
- It still has four sections: Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking.
Practice
What does it mean that the TOEFL iBT is adaptive?
The test adjusts to each student's level, so test time and items may vary.
Reading and Listening
- Reading, about 30 minutes and 50 items: Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life, Read an Academic Passage.
- Listening, about 29 minutes and 47 items: Listen and Choose a Response, Listen to a Conversation, Listen to an Announcement, Listen to an Academic Talk.
- Everyday English now sits next to academic English, so practise both.
Writing and Speaking
- Writing, about 23 minutes and 12 items: Build a Sentence, Write an Email, Write for an Academic Discussion.
- Speaking, about 8 minutes and 11 items: Listen and Repeat, Take an Interview.
- Listen and Repeat belongs to Speaking: you are scored on what you say back.
Practice
Match each task to its section.
Listen and Repeat is a Speaking task, even though it starts with listening.
The 1 to 6 score scale
- You get four section scores and an overall score, each from 1 to 6 in half-point steps.
- The overall score is the average of the four sections, rounded to the nearest half: 5.25 becomes 5.5, 5.125 becomes 5.
- The scale lines up with CEFR: 1–1.5 A1, 2–2.5 A2, 3–3.5 B1, 4–4.5 B2, 5–5.5 C1, 6 C2.
Practice
Your section scores average 5.25. What overall score does your report show?
The overall score is the average rounded to the nearest half band: 5.25 becomes 5.5.
Practice
A score of 5 to 5.5 lines up with CEFR level C1.
1 to 1.5 is A1, 4 to 4.5 is B2, 5 to 5.5 is C1 and 6 is C2.
Old and new scores
- Until January 2028, every score report shows three things: the CEFR level, the 1 to 6 scores and a comparable 0 to 120 overall score.
- A university that still writes its requirement on the 0 to 120 scale can compare it with that number.
- Sources, checked on 13 September 2026: TOEFL iBT score scale update, TOEFL iBT content and structure.
Practice
Complete: until January 2028, reports also show a comparable score from 0 to ___.
During the change-over, reports carry the CEFR level, the 1 to 6 scores and a comparable 0 to 120 score.