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ACT Score Calculator
The ACT Score Calculator computes your composite score from English, Math, and Reading section scores (each 1-36) under the 2025 enhanced ACT format, looks up your national percentile rank, classifies your score tier, and shows the college admission context. If you enter an optional Science score, it also calculates your STEM score (average of Math and Science).
IELTS Score Calculator
The IELTS Score Calculator averages your four section scores (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking - each 1.0-9.0 in 0.5 steps), applies the official IELTS rounding rules (decimal <0.25 rounds down; 0.25-0.74 rounds to .5; >=0.75 rounds up to next whole band), and returns your overall band score, CEFR level, band descriptor, and what the band unlocks for study, work, and immigration. It also flags the weakest section if it is pulling the average down by 1.0 or more.
PTE Score Calculator
The PTE Score Calculator takes your four PTE Academic communicative skill scores (Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing - each 10-90), estimates your overall score as the average of the four skills (with a note that Pearson calculates the official overall differently), maps the score to an IELTS equivalent using the July 2025 Pearson concordance, and shows which university admission, visa, and Australian PR thresholds your estimated score meets.
TOEFL Score Calculator Logic
The TOEFL iBT is one of the most widely accepted English proficiency tests in the world, used by over 13,000 universities and institutions across 160 countries. In January 2026, ETS changed the TOEFL scoring system from the familiar 0-120 total score to a 1-6 band scale, putting it more in line with IELTS and the CEFR framework. If you took the TOEFL before January 2026 you will have a legacy score out of 120. If you took it after January 2026, your score report shows the new 1-6 band alongside a comparable legacy equivalent. The TOEFL Score Calculator handles both formats, works out your IELTS equivalent, and shows what your score means for university admissions, with a toggle that lets you switch between the two scales.
How the New 2026 TOEFL 1-6 Scoring System Works
Under the new format introduced on January 21, 2026, each of the four TOEFL iBT sections (Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing) is scored on a scale from 1.0 to 6.0 in 0.5-point increments. The overall band score is the arithmetic average of the four section scores, rounded to the nearest 0.5. For example, section scores of 5.0, 5.0, 4.5, and 4.0 produce an average of 4.625, which rounds to 4.5. The ETS official score scale update page explains the full transition, including how the new bands map onto CEFR levels and the legacy 0-120 scale. During the transition period from January 2026 through January 2028, score reports carry out all three values simultaneously: the new 1-6 band, the comparable legacy score, and the CEFR level.
Legacy TOEFL Scoring: How the 0-120 Scale Worked
On the legacy 0-120 scale, each of the four sections was scored from 0 to 30 and the total score was the sum of all four section scores. A total of 120 represented a perfect score, while the mean across all test-takers was approximately 81. Scores of 100 or above were considered competitive for most highly selective graduate programs. That legacy system is still relevant because many universities published their requirements on the 0-120 scale and have not yet updated their admissions pages to reflect the new 1-6 band equivalencies. If you figure out that your target institution still lists a requirement like "minimum 100 on TOEFL iBT," that translates to a 5.0 on the new band scale.
| New Band (1-6) | Legacy Score (0-120) | IELTS Equiv. | University Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 - 6.0 | 110 - 120 | 8.0 - 9.0 | Highly selective (Harvard, MIT, Oxford, Cambridge) |
| 5.0 - 5.5 | 100 - 110 | 7.5 | Very selective (top-50 global universities) |
| 4.5 - 5.0 | 88 - 100 | 7.0 | Selective (most graduate programs worldwide) |
| 4.0 - 4.5 | 79 - 88 | 6.5 | Moderately selective (most undergraduate programs) |
| 3.5 - 4.0 | 68 - 79 | 6.0 | Less selective; foundation and pathway programs |
| 3.0 - 3.5 | 56 - 68 | 5.5 | Some regional colleges; preparatory programs |
TOEFL Score to IELTS Equivalency
ETS maintains an official concordance between TOEFL scores and IELTS bands, updated in 2025. The most commonly used benchmarks are that a TOEFL new band of 5.0 (legacy 100) is equivalent to IELTS 7.5, and a band of 4.5 (legacy ~88) is equivalent to IELTS 7.0. Given that many universities publish English requirements in IELTS terms while also accepting TOEFL, these equivalencies are useful for figuring out whether your TOEFL score meets a stated IELTS requirement. That said, some universities set TOEFL-specific thresholds that do not align precisely with the published concordance, so it is worth checking the specific TOEFL requirement published by each institution rather than relying solely on the IELTS conversion. For comparison with IELTS section requirements, our IELTS Score Calculator can help you work out whether switching tests would be to your advantage.
TOEFL MyBest Scores: Superscoring Explained
ETS automatically calculates and reports a MyBest score on every official TOEFL score report. The MyBest score is the highest score from each section across all valid TOEFL test dates within a two-year window, combined into a single overall band. For example, if you scored 5.0 in Reading and 4.0 in Writing on one sitting, and 4.5 in Reading and 5.0 in Writing on another, your MyBest report would show 5.0 Reading and 5.0 Writing. As a result, the MyBest overall band can be higher than any single sitting. Many universities accept MyBest scores, but not all. Institutions including Princeton University, UC Berkeley, and USC require single-sitting scores and do not accept MyBest. Given that, it is important to build up your preparation on the sections where you are consistently below target rather than relying on superscoring to carry out the gap, particularly if your target institutions do not accept MyBest. The ETS score understanding guide lists which institutions accept MyBest scores and the conditions under which the superscore is reported.
Per-Section Minimums and What They Mean for Your Application
Many universities set not just a total TOEFL score requirement but also per-section minimums alongside it. These are particularly common for competitive professional programs. Oxford University, for example, requires a minimum of 5.0 in all four sections for most postgraduate programs alongside the overall band requirement. On top of that, some US graduate programs set Speaking minimums specifically for teaching assistantships, since spoken English proficiency is evaluated separately for graduate students who teach classes. Given this, a student whose overall band meets the university threshold but whose Speaking section falls below a per-section minimum may still be considered ineligible for specific programs or funding. With that in mind, it is worth checking not just the overall TOEFL requirement for each institution on your list but also any published section minimums. The ETS minimum score requirements guide provides a starting point for common thresholds by country. For a full academic profile picture alongside your TOEFL score, our GPA Calculator can help you work out how your grades and test scores position you together. If you are planning multiple sittings, use your section breakdown between tests to narrow down which single section gives you the largest marginal gain, then carry out a focused preparation cycle targeting that one area before re-sitting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Muhammad Shahbaz Siddiqui
Founder, TheCalculatorsHub
How switching from the legacy to the new 1-6 format changed what a student needed to target
In March 2026, a computer science applicant from Brazil contacted me after sitting the TOEFL iBT for the second time. His first sitting was in November 2025, before the January 2026 scoring change, and he had scored 92 out of 120. His target university required a 100 on the legacy scale. He planned to retake in February 2026, but when his second score report arrived it showed his scores in the new 1-6 band format alongside a comparable legacy score. He did not know how to figure out whether his new score of 4.5 overall was an improvement over his previous 92, or whether he had made progress toward the 100 his university required.
When we ran both scores through the calculator, the picture came into focus immediately. The legacy score of 92 placed him at approximately 4.5 on the new band scale, with an IELTS equivalent of about 7.0. His February 2026 score of 4.5 confirmed he was holding steady, not improving. The target of 100 on the legacy scale translated to a 5.0 on the new band scale. He needed to move from 4.5 to 5.0, which meant raising his average section score by 0.5 band points across all four sections.
Looking at his section breakdown in the new format, his Reading was 5.0 and Listening was 5.0, both above the overall. His Speaking was 4.5 and Writing was 4.0, both pulling the average down. Writing at 4.0 was the furthest from his target. The calculator flagged it as his weakest section and the one where improvement would carry out the most impact on his overall band. On top of that, the target university published a per-section minimum of 4.0 in Speaking, which his current 4.5 already cleared, and a 4.5 in Writing, which his 4.0 did not yet meet. His Writing section was both the bottleneck for the overall band and the only section where he fell below the per-section minimum.
He spent three months working exclusively on TOEFL Writing, focusing on integrated writing task structure and independent essay coherence using official ETS scored practice materials. In his April 2026 sitting his Writing improved from 4.0 to 4.5. His overall band moved from 4.5 to 4.75, which rounded to 5.0. His score report showed 5.0 overall, clearing the university's threshold. His application was submitted that week and he received an offer in May 2026.