How IELTS Score is Calculated

IELTS or International English Language Testing System, is designed to assess the proficiency and language skills of candidates across different areas of the English Language. There are many institutions in different countries like UK, USA, Canada, Australia etc who accept IELTS scores. It is also used in the Visas and Immigration process by the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and others. Therefore, a good score is crucial in providing proof that one has command over the language.

IELTS registration

The IELTS paper-based exam is conducted 4 times a month or 48 times a year while IELTS computer-based exams are also conducted various times in  a year, so candidates have the liberty to register for IELTS exam slot booking according to themselves.

IELTS Score Scale

Band score	Skill level	Description
9	Expert user	The test taker has fully operational command of the language. Their use of English is appropriate, accurate and fluent, and shows complete understanding.
8	Very good user	The test taker has fully operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriate usage. They may misunderstand some things in unfamiliar situations. They handle complex and detailed argumentation well.
7	Good user	The test taker has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriate usage and misunderstandings in some situations. They generally handle complex language well and understand detailed reasoning.
6	Competent user	The test taker has an effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriate usage and misunderstandings. They can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations.
5	Modest user	The test taker has a partial command of the language and copes with overall meaning in most situations, although they are likely to make many mistakes. They should be able to handle basic communication in their own field.
4	Limited user	The test taker's basic competence is limited to familiar situations. They frequently show problems in understanding and expression. They are not able to use complex language.
3	Extremely limited user	The test taker conveys and understands only general meaning in very familiar situations. There are frequent breakdowns in communication.
2	Intermittent user	The test taker has great difficulty understanding spoken and written English.
1	Non-user	The test taker has no ability to use the language except a few isolated words.
0	Did not attempt the test	The test taker did not answer the questions.

IELTS Band Score Calculation

The IELTS band calculator used to calculate the mean of all the four components i.e. Listening, Reading, Writing and speaking). All the sections are equally weighted. The band score is rounded off to the nearest whole or half band.

Example:

Listening	6.5
Reading	6.5
Writing	5.0
Speaking	7.0
Average of all components	6.5+6.5+5.0+7.0/4 = 6.25
Overall score (round off)	6.5

 

IELTS Listening Score

It has 40 questions. There is no negative marking so the maximum raw score you can get for each component is 40. On the basis of raw scores, candidate’s are awarded for their total number of correct answers from Band1 to Band9, Band score is directly proportional to correct number of questions of a candidate.

Example: 

No. of Correct Answers	IELTS Listening Score
35	IELTS Band 8
30	IELTS Band 7
23	IELTS Band 6
16	IELTS Band 5

 

IELTS Speaking Scores

IELTS  Speaking has four criteria which are weighted equally i.e. Fluency, Coherence, Grammatical range & Accuracy and Pronunciation. It describes written performance at each of the 9 IELTS Bands.

IELTS Reading Scores

It has 40 questions. There is no negative marking so the maximum raw score you can get for each component is 40. On the basis of raw scores, candidate’s are awarded for their total number of correct answers from Band1 to Band9, Band score is directly proportional to correct number of questions of a candidate.

Example:

No. of correct answers		IELTS Listening Score
General Training	Academic
–	35	IELTS Band 8
34	30	IELTS Band 7
30	23	IELTS Band 6
23	15	IELTS Band 5
16	–	IELTS Band 4

 

IELTS Writing Score

IELTS writing  has four criteria which are weighted equally i.e. Task Achievement  & Task response, Coherence and cohesion, Lexical Resource, Grammatical range and Accuracy,  It describes written performance at each of the 9 IELTS Bands.

Validity period of IELTS results

Every organization has their different validity periods that work for their purposes. However, the IELTS result’s validity period is 2-years based upon the well-documented circumstance or second loss of language.