Test format & sections
Reading
30m · up to 50 items, adaptive (2 modules)
Module 1 (medium difficulty, same for everyone) determines Module 2's difficulty AND the section's score ceiling — roughly 60%+ correct in Module 1 unlocks the Hard Module 2 (full 6.0 possible); below that routes to the Easy Module 2, which caps the section at 4.0 even with a perfect score there. Passages are much shorter than the old format (~200 words, not ~700).
Listening
29m · up to 47 items, adaptive (2 modules)
Same adaptive 2-module structure and score-cap logic as Reading. No more long lectures — every recording is short, generally 60–90 seconds. Audio plays once.
Speaking
~8–10m · 11 scored items, 2 tasks
No prep time, no notes. Listen and Repeat: hear a sentence once, repeat it back exactly — scored on accurate content-word reproduction, not paraphrase. Take an Interview: 4 spontaneous ~45-second answers on familiar/everyday topics. Scored on Fluency, Intelligibility, Language Use, and Organization (includes Relevancy).
Writing
23m · 12 items, 3 tasks
Build a Sentence (unscramble a student-exchange sentence) is scored correct/incorrect only, no partial credit. Write an Email (~7 min) and Academic Discussion (~10 min, still rewards a genuinely new idea over agreement) are each scored 0–5 on Content, Organization, Register, and Grammar, then normalized into the overall Writing band.
How TOEFL iBT is scored
4 sections each scored 1–6 in 0.5 increments — Reading and Listening are adaptive (two modules each), Speaking and Writing are AI-scored with human oversight. Overall = average of the 4 sections, rounded to the nearest half band. A comparable legacy 0–120 score is also shown on reports through January 2028.
Score levels
Typical requirements
TOEFL iBT frequently asked questions
How long is the TOEFL iBT?
Approximately 2 hours, following the 21 January 2026 redesign. Reading (30 min, adaptive, up to 50 items), Listening (29 min, adaptive, up to 47 items), Writing (23 min, 12 items across 3 tasks), Speaking (~8–10 min, 11 items across 2 tasks).
How is the TOEFL scored?
Since the January 2026 redesign, each of the four sections is scored 1–6 in 0.5 increments, CEFR-aligned (6 = C2, 5–5.5 = C1, 4–4.5 = B2, 3–3.5 = B1, 2–2.5 = A2, 1–1.5 = A1). The overall score is the average of the 4 sections, rounded to the nearest half band. Through January 2028, score reports also show a comparable legacy 0–120 score alongside the new one, since many institutions' published requirements still cite the old scale.
How long are TOEFL scores valid?
2 years from the test date. ETS will not report scores older than 2 years — this is unchanged by the 2026 format redesign.
Can I take the TOEFL at home?
Yes — TOEFL iBT Home Edition is the same test (current format) as the test-centre version, taken on your own computer with live human proctoring. Scores are equally accepted by institutions.
How soon can I retake the TOEFL?
You must wait at least 3 days between test dates. Check ETS's current published policy for any annual attempt limit, as retake rules can change independently of the test format.
What changed in the January 2026 TOEFL redesign?
A full overhaul, not an incremental update: adaptive Reading and Listening (two difficulty-routed modules each, replacing fixed-length sections), an entirely new Speaking section (Listen and Repeat + Take an Interview, replacing the old 4-task format), a new Writing task (Build a Sentence, alongside Write an Email and Academic Discussion), and a new 1–6 CEFR-aligned scoring scale replacing 0–120 as primary.