Grades & exams / Languages
IELTS Band Score Calculator: Overall Band from the Four Sections
Enter your Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking bands to get the IELTS overall band, rounded the official way, with its skill level and how many more half bands you need for the next overall band.
IELTS Band Score Calculator: Overall Band from the Four Sections: The overall band is the average of the four sections rounded to the nearest half band, with .25 rounded up to the next half band and .75 up to the next whole band. Listening 6.5, Reading 6.5, Writing 5, and Speaking 7 average 6.25, which gives an overall band of 6.5, Competent. Runs 100% locally in your browser with zero server file uploads.
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The overall band is the average of the four section bands rounded to the nearest half band. As IELTS explains, an average ending in .25 is rounded up to the next half band, and one ending in .75 up to the next whole band: 6.25 becomes 6.5 and 6.75 becomes 7, while 6.125 becomes 6. Listening and Reading bands come from your number of correct answers, Writing and Speaking from the examiners' marks.
The skill levels
IELTS describes each whole band: 9 Expert, 8 Very good, 7 Good, 6 Competent, 5 Modest, 4 Limited, 3 Extremely limited, 2 Intermittent, 1 Non-user, and 0 for not attempting the test.
Official examples
IELTS gives three examples of the rounding: 6.5, 6.5, 5.0, and 7.0 average 6.25 and give 6.5; 4.0, 3.5, 4.0, and 4.0 average 3.875 and give 4.0; and 6.5, 6.5, 5.5, and 6.0 average 6.125 and give 6.0.
How to use it
- Enter your band for each of the four sections.
- Read the overall band and its skill level.
- See how many more half bands would lift the overall band.
Privacy & limitations
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Frequently asked questions
Why is my overall band higher than my average?
Because averages ending in .25 and .75 are rounded up: 6.25 becomes 6.5 and 6.75 becomes 7. An average of 6.125 is rounded down to 6.
Can I convert correct answers to a band here?
Not yet: the number of correct answers needed for each band in Listening and Reading varies slightly from test to test, and IELTS does not publish a fixed table.
What band do universities ask for?
Many English-speaking universities ask for 6.5 overall with no section below 6, and some courses for 7 or more; check each university's requirement.
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