IELTS band scores explained: what counts as a good score

IELTS is not pass or fail. It reports a band from 0 to 9 for each of the four skills, plus an overall band that is the average of those four.

What the bands describe

Roughly: Band 9 is an expert user, Band 8 very good, Band 7 good, Band 6 competent, Band 5 modest. The steps are not evenly spaced in effort. Moving from 5 to 6 is largely a matter of accuracy and range; moving from 7 to 8 is about control and flexibility, and typically takes far longer.

How the overall is calculated

The four skill scores are averaged and rounded to the nearest whole or half band. An average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band, and one ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole. So 6.25 becomes 6.5 and 6.75 becomes 7.0.

You can work this out for any combination with our band score calculator.

Why the overall is often not the number that matters

Most institutions set a minimum in each skill as well as an overall. A candidate with 7.5 overall but 6.0 in Writing frequently fails a requirement of "7.0 overall with no band below 6.5" — the average looks comfortable and the application still does not qualify.

This has a practical consequence for preparation. Raising your weakest skill by half a band usually does more for your eligibility than raising your strongest by a full band, and it is normally easier.

Typical requirements

Undergraduate study in an English-speaking country commonly asks for 6.0 to 6.5 overall; postgraduate 6.5 to 7.0; regulated professions such as medicine and nursing considerably higher, often 7.0 to 7.5 with minimums in each skill. Immigration requirements vary widely by country and route.

Always read the exact wording of the requirement rather than the headline number. "No band below" is the phrase that decides most applications.

Scores do expire

Results are normally treated as valid for two years by the institutions that accept them. Plan the test date against your application deadline rather than sitting it as early as possible.