How band scores are worked out
What each band means, how the overall band is rounded, and the four criteria examiners use.
10 minutes · A free lesson from Start here
Every band describes what a candidate can do. Band 9 is an expert user; band 7 a good user who handles complex language well despite occasional mistakes; band 6 a competent user who is generally effective but makes errors; band 5 a modest user who copes with overall meaning but makes many mistakes.
Listening and Reading are marked out of 40, and your number of correct answers is converted to a band. Roughly, 30 correct answers in Listening is band 7 — every extra correct answer matters.
Writing and Speaking are marked against four criteria, each of which counts equally:
| Writing | Speaking |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement (Task 1) / Task Response (Task 2) | Fluency and Coherence |
| Coherence and Cohesion | Lexical Resource (vocabulary) |
| Lexical Resource (vocabulary) | Grammatical Range and Accuracy |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | Pronunciation |
The overall band
Your overall band is the average of the four skills, rounded to the nearest half band. An average ending in .25 goes up to the next half band; one ending in .75 goes up to the next whole band.
| Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking | Average | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.5 | 6.5 | 5.0 | 7.0 | 6.25 | 6.5 |
| 7.0 | 6.5 | 6.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| 7.5 | 7.0 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| 6.0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 6.625 | 6.5 |
Quick check: A candidate scores Listening 7.0, Reading 6.5, Writing 6.0, Speaking 6.0. What is the overall band?
- 6.0
- 6.5
- 7.0
Show the answer
B: 6.5 — The average is 6.375. That is between 6.25 and 6.75, so it is reported as 6.5.
Lesson quiz
Check what you have learned. Choose an answer to see whether it is right, and why.
Quick check: An average of 6.75 is reported as which overall band?
- 6.5
- 7.0
- 6.75
Show the answer
B: 7.0 — An average ending in .75 goes up to the next whole band, and one ending in .25 goes up to the next half band.
Quick check: How are Writing and Speaking marked?
- On grammar alone
- On one overall impression
- Against four criteria that count equally
Show the answer
C: Against four criteria that count equally — In Speaking, for example: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation.
Quick check: A university asks for “overall 6.5 with no band below 6.0”. Which result meets it?
- Listening 7.0, Reading 6.5, Writing 6.0, Speaking 6.5
- Listening 8.0, Reading 7.5, Writing 5.5, Speaking 7.0
- Listening 6.0, Reading 6.0, Writing 6.0, Speaking 6.0
Show the answer
A: Listening 7.0, Reading 6.5, Writing 6.0, Speaking 6.5 — A Writing score of 5.5 misses the minimum, however high the overall band. Four 6.0s make only 6.0 overall.
Quick check: Roughly how many correct answers out of 40 give band 7 in Listening?
- About 20
- All 40
- About 30
Show the answer
C: About 30 — About 30 correct answers is band 7, so every extra correct answer matters.