First identify which test result you are looking at
Before looking at the scores, check your name and test date. If you took the test more than once, open the report for the session you plan to submit. This helps prevent you from entering a result from another session based on memory. Keep the full PDF and use a filename that makes its test date easy to identify.
The ETS report separates scores from the selected test date from MyBest Scores, which combine your highest valid section scores from the last two years. Each institution decides whether to accept this combination. Keep the two sections distinct: using MyBest to answer a question about a specific test session would describe a different performance. For your own tracking, create one row for each test session and a separate row for MyBest. Do not mix their columns.
What do the five scores tell you on the current scale?
Since January 21, 2026, Reading, Listening, Writing, and Speaking each receive a score from 1 to 6 in half-point increments. The overall score is the average of these four scores, rounded to the nearest half point. ETS’s “Understanding Your Scores” page gives 5.5 as an example for an average of 5.25: the section scores are not added together as they were for the former total.
Read the scores for all four skills before looking at the average. Strong reading may coexist with weaker writing; the overall score combines these results without explaining the difference. To plan your study, note which skill to examine and what question it raises: difficulty understanding, producing a response, or keeping pace? The score report indicates where to investigate, but does not explain the reason for the difference on its own.
The score calculation, in the TOEFL guide GuideHow can you read the CEFR level without obscuring differences?
Table 7 of the ETS report maps score bands to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The ranges are the same for the overall score and for each of the four sections.
Use this reference to describe your profile without turning your overall level into a statement about all your skills. When speaking with an instructor, identifying the relevant section is more useful than simply saying “I’m C1.” For an application, copy the exact wording of the program’s requirement; a level name does not automatically replace its other conditions.
| Section or overall score | CEFR level |
|---|---|
| 1–1.5 | A1 |
| 2–2.5 | A2 |
| 3–3.5 | B1 |
| 4–4.5 | B2 |
| 5–5.5 | C1 |
| 6 | C2 |
What is the 0–120 total still used for?
ETS has planned a transition period through January 2028 during which the report will also show a comparable overall score on the 0–120 scale. This estimate represents the midpoint of the corresponding range on the former scale. It supplements the current scores; it is not a second test taken on the same day.
If an application form asks for a total on the 0–120 scale, find the comparable total printed on your report. If it asks for a 1–6 band, find that band. Do not calculate one from the other or convert a program’s minimum yourself. If the application still asks for subscores on the former scale without instructions for the current report, send the admissions office that specific question and include a reference to its requirement.
What can you conclude from Camille’s fictional score report?
Camille is a fictional test taker; the scores below are provided only to illustrate how to read the report. They total 19, have an average of 4.75, and yield a rounded overall score of 5. The CEFR mapping follows the ETS table. No program or admissions threshold is represented here.
Camille can see that her receptive skills received higher scores than her productive skills. She cannot conclude that she meets every requirement because her overall level is C1. Her next step is to compare each score report line with the requirements of her programs, then review her written and spoken responses to identify what needs work. This interpretation does not predict admission or the result of a future test.
| Score report line | Fictional score on a 1–6 scale | Associated level |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | 5.5 | C1 |
| Listening | 5 | C1 |
| Writing | 4 | B2 |
| Speaking | 4.5 | B2 |
| Global | 5 | C1 |
The pitfall
Reading only the overall score or converting a school’s minimum
An overall score that seems satisfactory to you does not allow you to ignore a section requirement. On your program’s page, look for wording that signals a requirement for each skill, a single test session, or a combination of scores. If a requirement remains unclear, ask for clarification before deciding that you need to retake the test.
Also avoid using a proportional calculation to convert between scales or between the percentage correct on a practice test and an official band. ETS states that the ranges on the two scales are not uniformly equivalent. Your own calculation therefore creates neither an official score nor a new admissions rule. Keep the score report and the program’s instructions side by side instead of using an improvised conversion table.
Key takeaways
- Identify the test session and keep its results separate from the MyBest section.
- Read all four sections before the overall score; their differences help you decide what to examine.
- Use the values already printed on the score report for each requested scale.
- Check requirements by skill and ask for clarification about ambiguous transition instructions.