Why Choose the TOEFL iBT Test?

Accepted and preferred worldwide

When you choose TOEFL iBT to show your English proficiency, universities notice and know you’re ready to succeed. Accepted by more than 13,000 universities and other institutions in over 160 countries, and preferred worldwide, the TOEFL iBT is the world's premier English-language test for study, work and immigration.

Available worldwide

Access the TOEFL iBT almost anywhere in the world, with testing available in more than 200 countries and territories.

TOEFL iBT Test Content, Structure and Administration

The TOEFL test measures all four academic skills — reading, listening, speaking and writing — the way they’re used in the classroom.

The language used in the test closely reflects how English is used in everyday academic settings, and the test contains 100% academic content with integrated tasks.

Content sections and structure

The TOEFL iBT test is broken up into four sections and takes about 2 hours to complete.

2 passages, each 700 words
- multiple-focus passages (compare/contrast, cause/effect)
- 10 questions for each passage
Estimated Timing: 35 minutes
Score scale: 0–30

3 lectures, some with classroom discussion, each 3–5 minutes, 6 questions each
2 conversations, each 3 minutes, 5 questions each
Estimated Timing: 36 minutes
Score scale: 0–30

4 tasks
- 1 independent task to express an opinion on a familiar topic
- 3 integrated tasks based on what is read and heard
- Up to 30 seconds to prepare the response, up to 1 minute to respond
Estimated Timing: 16 minutes
Score scale: 0–30

2 tasks:
- 1 20-minute integrated task based on what is read and heard
- 1 10-minute Writing for an Academic Discussion task to state and support an opinion in an online classroom discussion
Estimated Timing: 29 minutes
Score scale: 0–30

Future Scoring: What’s Changing in January 2026

Beginning January 21, 2026, TOEFL iBT score reports will feature a new 1 – 6 scale, in half point increments, with a more intuitive alignment to the Common European Framework of References for Language (CEFR).

A few notes on this scoring change:

You’ll receive four sections scores, as well as an overall score, on the 1 – 6 scale.
The overall score will be the average of all four sections, rounded to the nearest half band (for example, if the average of your section scores is 5.25, you will receive an overall score of 5.5).
For a two-year transition period after January 2026, you will also receive a comparable overall score on the 0 – 120 scale.

TOEFL Score Comparison for Tests Taken Before January 21, 2026

Total (1-6)	Reading	Listening	Writing	Speaking	Est. Total (0–120)
6	29-30	28-30	29-30	28-30	114+
5.5	27-28	26-27	27-28	27	107+
5	24-26	22-25	24-26	25-26	95+
4.5	22-23	20-21	21-23	23-24	86+
4	18-21	17-19	17-20	20-22	72+
3.5	12-17	13-16	15-16	18-19	58+
3	6-11	9-12	13-14	16-17	44+
2.5	4-5	6-8	10-12	13-15	34+
2	3	4-5	5-9	11-12	24+
1.5	2	2-3	3-6	5-9	12+
1	0-1	0-1	0-4	0-2	0+

This updated 1 – 6 scale will help both institutions interpret TOEFL scores in a faster and more intuitive manner, while more directly aligning TOEFL scores with CEFR, the key global benchmark.

And the two-year transition period, featuring the inclusion of a comparable 0 – 120 score on every score report, will help ease the score scale shift for global institutions.

What you’ll see when you get your score report from January 21 2026

Note: This is a sample for reference. Actual report might have minor variations.

Administration and testing options

The TOEFL iBT test is offered two ways:

TOEFL iBT test: on a computer at an authorized test center
TOEFL iBT Home Edition: on a computer at home, monitored by a live human proctor
TOEFL iBT Paper Edition: The TOEFL iBT Paper Edition test will no longer be offered after January 20, 2024, but Paper Edition test scores remain valid and accepted for two years after the test date.

Comparing TOEFL iBT and IELTS scores

Total Score Comparison Table

The table shows how TOEFL iBT total scores align with IELTS Academic overall band scores.

TOEFL iBT Score(0–120)	IELTS Band(0–9)
120	9
115	8.5
108	8
100	7.5
91	7
81	6.5
67	6
51	5.5
37	5
26	4.5
14	4

TOEFL iBT Test Security

In the academic community, we’re all dealing with a world where the motivation and capability to commit academic and admissions cheating is on the rise. There is significant competition among students applying to academic programs, which can result in attempts by test takers to gain an unfair advantage on required tests or falsify score information.

Results you can trust

ETS has long been at the forefront of combatting test security concerns, and we are continually invest in and implement new, state-of-the-art measures to help protect the integrity of TOEFL test scores. With these efforts, the TOEFL iBT test offers the best security of any English-language assessment.

Test-day security procedures include biometric voice identification, facial recognition and the use of electronic wanding at test centers.
For the TOEFL iBT Home Edition, ETS employs both live human proctors and artificial intelligence technology to prevent and detect suspicious activity.
The TOEFL Speech Sample Service and test-taker photos confirm student identity.
All human rating is done anonymously, eliminating opportunities for fraud between test takers and interviewers.
Since scoring isn't done at test centers and records aren't stored there, opportunities for scoring fraud are virtually nonexistent.
Tests are delivered directly from ETS to the test taker's computer, minimizing opportunities to steal content.