TOEFL iBT Guide 2026: The New Format, Scoring and How to Prepare

The TOEFL iBT is ETS's English test for study abroad. Universities use it for admission decisions, and other organizations use it too. It tests four skills — reading, listening, writing and speaking — entirely on a computer.

The version in use since January 21, 2026 is a substantial redesign: shorter tasks, a mix of everyday and academic English, adaptive Reading and Listening sections, and a new 1–6 score scale aligned to the CEFR (the Common European Framework of Reference). If your study materials talk about long reading passages, integrated speaking tasks or scores out of 30 per section as the main result, they describe the old test.

That's about 90 minutes of testing time. ETS says to allow about two hours in total, since the section times don't include directions. Because Reading and Listening adapt to you, ETS notes that the exact time and number of items can vary. ETS's test specifications also note that Reading and Listening include some unscored items. You can't tell which ones they are, so treat every question as if it counts.

• Complete the Words. A short paragraph in which some words are only partly shown. You type the missing letters to complete each word, which tests vocabulary, spelling, grammar and reading for meaning all at once.
• Read in Daily Life. Short, non-academic texts — the kind of thing you'd read on campus or in everyday life, such as signs, menus, emails and social media posts — followed by questions.
• Read an Academic Passage. A short academic text (far shorter than the long passages on the pre-2026 test) with questions on main ideas, key details, inferences, how ideas relate, and how the passage is organized.

The practical shift: speed and accuracy on short texts now matter more than stamina on long ones. Spelling matters too — a misspelled word in Complete the Words is wrong.

• Listen and Choose a Response. You hear one line from a speaker and choose the most natural reply. This is about pragmatics — understanding what someone means (a request, a complaint, a correction), not just the words.
• Listen to a Conversation. A short conversation between two people, followed by questions.
• Listen to an Announcement. A classroom or campus announcement, followed by questions.
• Listen to an Academic Talk. A short lecture-style talk, with questions on main ideas, details and what the speaker implies.

Each recording plays once. Take quick notes on who, what changed, and why — those are the facts questions ask about most.

• Build a Sentence (10 items). You rebuild a sentence by putting scrambled words and phrases in the correct order. ETS says the items cover a range of sentence structures, so drill the ones learners most often get wrong: question word order, embedded questions (“Do you know where it will be held?”), passives and relative clauses.
• Write an Email. A realistic situation and a few points to cover. You're judged on covering them, using a tone that fits the reader, and writing clearly and accurately.
• Write for an Academic Discussion. You contribute to an online class discussion, writing a paragraph that takes a clear position on the question and supports it well.

ETS's specifications describe the Email and Academic Discussion responses as scored with natural language processing and machine learning. Clear structure, a relevant point per sentence and accurate grammar serve you better than length or rare vocabulary.

• Listen and Repeat (7 items). A short scenario sets the scene (for example, a guide or trainer speaking), then you hear sentences ranging from short phrases to complex sentences and repeat each one exactly. It measures accuracy and intelligibility — pronunciation, stress and intonation.
• Take an Interview (4 items). An interviewer asks you questions, and you answer spontaneously, developing each answer clearly and coherently.

The old integrated tasks (read, listen, then summarize) are gone. The best practice now is short, frequent speaking: shadowing audio sentence by sentence, and answering interview-style questions out loud with a timer.

Reading and Listening are two-stage adaptive. Everyone starts with a first module; how you do there determines whether your second module is easier or harder. Writing and Speaking are the same for everyone.

What that means for you: the first module matters a lot, so don't rush it. And a second module that feels harder is usually good news — it typically means you did well on the first.

Since January 21, 2026, you get a score from 1 to 6, in half-point steps, for each of the four sections, plus an overall score. The overall score is the average of the four sections, rounded to the nearest half band — ETS's own example: an average of 5.25 becomes an overall 5.5.

• CEFR alignment. ETS designed the 1–6 scale to line up more intuitively with CEFR levels, so a score is easier to interpret against requirements written in CEFR terms.
• 0–120 during the transition. For a two-year transition period after January 2026, your score report also shows a comparable overall score on the old 0–120 scale (the midpoint of the matching range), so institutions that haven't updated their requirements can still read it.
• MyBest scores are still offered. On new-scale score reports, older 0–120 scores are converted to the 1–6 scale in the MyBest section.
• Timing and validity. Scores appear in your ETS account 3 days after your test, and they're valid for 2 years.

What's a good score? The one your target program asks for. Requirements are set by each institution, so look up the exact number — and check whether it's stated on the 1–6 scale or the 0–120 scale.

You register through your ETS account. The fee depends on where you test, so check the current price for your country on the ETS fees page rather than trusting a number from a blog post. You can test at a test center or at home — if you choose at-home testing, check ETS's equipment and room requirements first. ID requirements vary by where you're from and where you test, so confirm yours before test day.

Book early if you're working to an application deadline. Scores arrive about 3 days after the test, but popular dates can fill up.

1. Get current materials. Anything published before 2026 will mislead you on task types. Use ETS's official prep (TestReady and the free Test Prep Planner) plus practice built for the 2026 format.
2. Diagnose (week 1). Take our free TOEFL practice test — it covers all twelve task types in the real order — and note which tasks cost you.
3. Daily skill work (weeks 2–5). 15 minutes of word-completion and spelling practice; 15 minutes of listening with instant replies (“what's the best response?”); one Build a Sentence set; one short email or discussion post; and 5 minutes of listen-and-repeat shadowing.
4. Timed sections (weeks 6–8). Full sections under time, then a full test. Review every miss by task type, not just by section.

Most people need several weeks of focused work to move up half a band. If your target is far away, give yourself a few months.

The January 21, 2026 update replaced the task types, made Reading and Listening adaptive, and introduced the 1–6 score scale (with the 0–120 score reported alongside during the transition). If you're comparing with an older score report or an older prep book, read our breakdown: TOEFL iBT 2026 changes: what's new and how scores work now.

• ETS — TOEFL iBT test content: the official section-by-section breakdown.
• ETS — Understanding your scores: the 1–6 scale, the transition 0–120 score and MyBest.
• ETS — Prepare for the TOEFL iBT: TestReady and the free 8-week Test Prep Planner with sample questions.
• ETS — 2026 test blueprint and specifications (PDF): the technical detail behind each task type.

• Free TOEFL iBT practice test (2026 format) — every task type, with audio for Listening and Speaking.
• TOEFL iBT 2026 changes explained — old vs new, side by side.
• Also considering IELTS? See our IELTS guide.