IELTS Band Score Chart 2026: Raw Scores, Rounding and What Each Band Means
Two candidates can answer the same number of Reading questions correctly and walk away with different bands, and one of them can average 6.625 across four sections while another averages 6.75 and only the second gets a 7.0. Neither is a mistake. IELTS scoring has a raw-to-band conversion that differs between Academic and General Training, and a rounding rule that quietly decides thousands of applications every year. Here's the full chart and the arithmetic behind it.
How the Overall Band Is Calculated
Your overall band is the mean of your four section bands, equally weighted, rounded to the nearest whole or half band. The rounding is where people get caught:
- An average ending .25 rounds up to the next half band, so 6.25 becomes 6.5
- An average ending .75 rounds up to the next whole band, so 6.75 becomes 7.0
- Anything below .25 rounds down, so 6.125 becomes 6.0
- Anything between .5 and .75 stays put, so 6.625 becomes 6.5, not 7.0
That last line is worth pausing on, because several published guides state 6.625 rounds up to 7.0. It doesn't. The rule only lifts you at the .25 and .75 marks, and a 6.625 average sits below the threshold that would take you to 7.0. If you've been told otherwise, check the arithmetic against your own scorecard before you assume you've cleared a requirement.
What this means in practice
Take L7.0, R7.0, W6.0, S7.0. The sum is 27.0, the average is 6.75, and the overall is 7.0.
Now drop Reading by half a band: L7.0, R6.5, W6.0, S7.0. The sum is 26.5, the average is 6.625, and the overall is 6.5.
Half a band in one section cost a full half band overall. This is why targeting your weakest section usually beats polishing your strongest, and it's the entire argument for One Skill Retake when a single section is dragging the average.
Listening: Raw Score to Band
Forty questions, one mark each, and the same conversion applies to both Academic and General Training.
| Raw score /40 | Band |
|---|---|
| 39–40 | 9.0 |
| 37–38 | 8.5 |
| 35–36 | 8.0 |
| 32–34 | 7.5 |
| 30–31 | 7.0 |
| 26–29 | 6.5 |
| 23–25 | 6.0 |
| 18–22 | 5.5 |
| 16–17 | 5.0 |
Reading: Two Different Tables
Reading also runs to 40 questions, but Academic and General Training use separate conversions, and General Training is markedly stricter. The passages are more everyday, so the marking compensates.
| Band | Academic /40 | General Training /40 |
|---|---|---|
| 9.0 | 39–40 | 40 |
| 8.5 | 37–38 | 39 |
| 8.0 | 35–36 | 37–38 |
| 7.5 | 33–34 | 36 |
| 7.0 | 30–32 | 34–35 |
| 6.5 | 27–29 | 32–33 |
| 6.0 | 23–26 | 30–31 |
| 5.5 | 19–22 | 27–29 |
| 5.0 | 15–18 | 23–26 |
Look at Band 7.0: 30 correct in Academic, 34 in General Training. Four extra questions for the same number on the certificate. Candidates who switch modules mid-preparation and keep using their old benchmarks consistently misjudge where they stand.
Treat both tables as close estimates. Exact boundaries shift slightly between test versions to account for difficulty, so a given administration might need one mark more or fewer. Use them for planning, not for proving you've hit a requirement.
Writing and Speaking Have No Raw Score
There's nothing to convert. Both are assessed by examiners against four criteria, each scored 0 to 9, then averaged into the section band.
Writing is judged on task achievement or task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy. Speaking is judged on fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation.
Because it's an average of four criteria, a single weak area caps the section. A candidate strong on vocabulary and fluency but consistently inaccurate on grammar can't reach Band 7 in Speaking on the strength of the other three, which is why targeted work on one criterion usually moves the band faster than general practice.
Two Rules That Cost Marks in Listening and Reading
There's no negative marking. A wrong answer scores the same as a blank, which means leaving anything unanswered is strictly worse than guessing. Blanks can't be right; guesses sometimes are.
Spelling and word limits are absolute. An answer that's correct in substance but misspelled scores zero, and so does one that exceeds the stated word limit. Candidates who understood the passage or recording perfectly still lose marks here, and it's the most avoidable loss in the exam. More on where this bites in Reading specifically is in this month's Reading guide.
What Band You Actually Need
Most undergraduate courses ask 6.0 to 6.5 overall. Postgraduate typically runs 6.5 to 7.0. Competitive programmes and several professional registrations sit at 7.0 to 7.5, and many requirements add a minimum per section, which is where the rounding rule matters most: an overall 7.0 built on a 6.0 in Writing fails a "no band below 6.5" condition even though the headline number clears.
Always read the requirement in full rather than just the overall figure. If you're comparing against a PTE requirement instead, the IELTS to PTE conversion chart maps between the two scales.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does an average of 6.625 round up to 7.0? No. It rounds to 6.5. Only averages ending .25 and .75 round upward, so 6.75 reaches 7.0 but 6.625 doesn't. Several guides state this incorrectly.
2. How many correct answers do I need for Band 7 in Reading? Roughly 30 out of 40 in Academic and 34 out of 40 in General Training. Boundaries shift slightly between test versions.
3. Is General Training Reading really harder to score on? The passages are more everyday, but the conversion is stricter, so you need more correct answers for the same band. Whether that makes it harder depends on the candidate.
4. Do Listening and Reading use the same conversion table? Listening uses one table for both modules. Reading uses different tables for Academic and General Training.
5. Should I guess if I don't know an answer? Yes, always. There's no penalty for a wrong answer, so a blank can only lose you a mark that a guess might win.
6. Does misspelling an answer cost the mark? Yes. A correct answer spelled wrong scores zero, as does one that breaks the stated word limit.
Where to Go From Here
If one section is holding your average down, One Skill Retake may be cheaper than a full retake. For Listening specifically, the Band 6 to 8 plateau guide covers where scores stall. To build a full schedule across all four sections, use the Band 7 study plan.
Sources
IELTS official site — band descriptors and scoring policy. Raw-to-band boundaries are indicative and vary by test version.
IELTS Band Score Calculator — AllThingsIELTS — rounding thresholds stated precisely.
IELTS Band Score Guide 2026 — FullPracticeTests — worked example confirming 6.625 does not round to 7.0.
