TOEFL iBT format and scoring: the January 2026 redesign

ETS redesigned the TOEFL iBT for tests taken on or after January 21, 2026. Reading and Listening are now adaptive, Speaking and Writing have new task types, and scores are reported on a 1 to 6 band scale aligned with CEFR levels.

Last checked October 2026. Based on ETS’s content and structure page, ETS’s 2026 score-display blog and guides summarizing them. On length: the sections add up to about 90 minutes of testing (per a guide citing ETS’s section times), while ETS’s ‘about 2 hours’ includes directions; guides quoting 85 minutes count testing time only.

What changed

• Adaptive. Reading and Listening adjust to your performance, according to ETS.
• New scoring. Four section scores and an overall score on the 1 to 6 scale. ETS says that through January 2028, every score report also shows a comparable overall score on the old 0 to 120 scale. The overall 1 to 6 score is the average of the four sections, rounded to the nearest half band.
• Faster results. Guides say score delivery moved from 6 to 10 days to within 72 hours.
• New task types. A guide says the two long writing essays are gone, replaced by three task types, and Speaking now has two task types.
• Scoring. ETS says Speaking and Writing responses are scored by a combination of AI scoring and ETS-certified raters.
• Section order. A guide gives the order as Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking.

What your target school wants

Universities that require the TOEFL set their own minimum scores, and during the transition they may state requirements on the old 0 to 120 scale, the new 1 to 6 scale, or both. A guide notes some programs also require a minimum in Speaking. Contact your target university to confirm its requirement for the new format.

Common questions