TOEFL Scores and How to Validate TOEFL Score

TOEFL Scores and How to Validate the TOEFL Score/ Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is a standardized test to measure the English language ability of non-native speakers wishing to enroll in English-speaking universities. The test is accepted by many English-speaking academic and professional institutions. TOEFL is one of the two major English-language tests in the world, the other being the IELTS.

To understand the scores you receive for TOEFL, you need to first comprehend how each section of the exam is scored.

• The Reading section of TOEFL –  is scored by the computer and the score range is from 0 to 30. This section has 36–56 tasks based on reading passages from texts and answering questions.
• The Listening section of TOEFL –  is scored by computer with a score range from 0 to 30. This section has 34–51 tasks based on listening to lectures, classroom discussions, and conversations, then answering questions.
• In the Speaking section of TOEFL – all six tasks are rated from 0 to 4. The sum is converted to a scaled score of 0 to 30. This section is scored by human scorers, and they rate responses and evaluate how well you develop your topic argument and deliver your message in English.
• The Writing section of TOEFL – is scored by evaluating the integrated writing task for development, grammar, vocabulary, accuracy, and completeness. Human raters score tests anonymously. Two tasks are rated from 0 to 5. The sum is converted to a scaled score of 0 to 30.

 Division of TOEFL scores

Section	Score range	Level
Reading	0–30	Low (0–14) Intermediate (15–21) High (22–30)
Listening	0–30	Low (0–14) Intermediate (15–21) High (22–30)
Speaking	0–4 points converted to 0–30 score scale	Weak (0–9) Limited (10–17) Fair (18–25) Good (26–30)
Writing	0–5 points converted to 0–30 score scale	Limited (1–16) Fair (17–23) Good (24–30)
Total Score	0–120	–

What Do Your Scores Mean?

You will receive 4 scaled section scores and a total score.

• Each section has a score range of 0–30.
• These are added together for a total score of 0–120.

Each skill has 4 or 5 proficiency levels, so where your score falls within that range tells you your proficiency for that skill.

Skill	Level
Reading	Advanced (24–30) High-Intermediate (18–23) Low-Intermediate (4–17) Below Low-Intermediate (0–3)
Listening	Advanced (22–30) High-Intermediate (17–21) Low-Intermediate (9–16) Below Low-Intermediate (0–8)
Speaking	Advanced (25–30) High-Intermediate (20–24) Low-Intermediate (16–19) Basic (10–15) Below Basic (0–9)
Writing	Advanced (24–30) High-Intermediate (17–23) Low-Intermediate (13–16) Basic (7–12) Below Basic (0–6)

TOEFL Results

Viewing your TOEFL scores has never been easier. Around 10 days after your test date, you will receive an e-mail informing you when your score result will be available. Since the TOEFL test is administered through the Internet, you will be able to view your result online.

For that, all you have to do is log in to your TOEFL account on the TOEFL website and click ‘view scores’ to see your scores. You will see the list of dates, they will provide an estimate of when your score result will be available for viewing.

Official Score Reports

Printed reports are mailed 13 days after your test date. After that, you need to allow at least 7 to 10 days to reach you. This process can’t be hurried as ETS has no control over the delivery of the mail. Your TOEFL scores will be valid for two years.

TOEFL percentile

Here is a table explaining what percentile would equal your total scaled scores.

TOEFL Score	Percentile
120	100
116	99
112	97
108	93
104	88
100	81
96	74
92	67
88	59
84	51
80	44
76	37
72	31
68	25
64	20
60	16
56	13
52	10
48	8
44	6
40	4
36	3
32	2
28	1
24	1
20	0
16	0
12	0
8	0
4	0
0	0

What is a Good Score, in Terms of Percentiles?

Then there’s the matter of TOEFL percentiles. Your percentile shows how you did in comparison with other test-takers. The higher the percentile, the better. A 90th percentile TOEFL score means you scored higher than 90% of the other test-takers. If you can fall into that percentile, you have a pretty good TOEFL score. And more basically, the higher above the 50th percentile you go, the better off you are.

Now, here’s where percentiles get interesting: ETS measures percentiles based on the demographic that you’re in. This means you compare your TOEFL score to other test-takers who share your language, come from your home country, share your gender, or have the same level of education that you do.

Let’s say that your TOEFL score is in the 90th percentile for your country. This makes your score a good one, if you’re applying to English language degree programs in your own country.

If you’re from a very big nation, your national TOEFL percentile influences global percentiles a lot. So a high TOEFL percentile in your home country may be good by the standards of universities around the world. “Big nation” high percentiles are especially valuable for university admissions in the English-Speaking world. Many American, British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, and Irish universities primarily accept either Chinese or Indian international students. What does this mean if you’re from China or India and have a high TOEFL percentile for your country? It means your TOEFL score will probably be good for schools you apply to in native English speaking countries.

The people at ETS offer a very “data-heavy” way to answer the question “What is a good TOEFL score?” They keep an official document of TOEFL iBT score percentiles. That document can help you find your percentile for one or more of your demographics.

This official TOEFL percentile report can seem a little complicated and overwhelming for some readers, though. That’s why Magoosh has created an analysis and explanation of ETS’s TOEFL percentile data. You can read explanations of the official TOEFL percentiles in these three posts:

So What is a Good TOEFL Score, in General?

As you’ve seen, a good score depends on many things: your university, your major, your country, and more. Still, generally, the following is true about TOEFL scores at most schools:

Less than 80: This is generally not a good TOEFL iBT score. If you below on 80 on the TOEFL, it will be hard to get into an English language university, unless you go for conditional acceptance. However, some small public universities in the US will accept TOEFL scores below 80. And English degree programs in non-English speaking countries also sometimes may accept scores in this not-so-good range.

80-90: This score range is treated as moderately good. Once you get your TOEFL iBT score to 80 or higher, many more universities will accept you. Interestingly, in this moderate range, it’s easier to get accepted into grad schools. (Graduate programs require English ability, but are more interested in your research skills and academic expertise.)

90-100: TOEFL scores in this range are perfectly good. At this level, your TOEFL score is good enough for most universities. With these TOEFL scores, you also have a shot at getting a position as an RA, TA, or GA on campus.

100-110: These are very good TOEFL scores. Once you start scoring this high on a TOEFL iBT, you can be accepted into Ivy League schools and other top universities.

110-120: These are the best TOEFL iBT scores by any standard. If you score this well, you should get in…. Unless you fail to meet section subscore requirements.

TOEFL MyBest Scores and Retaking the TOEFL

Since 2019, the TOEFL has been scored on the MyBest system. What does this mean? Well, if you’ve only taken the TOEFL once, it doesn’t mean much; MyBest scores apply to people who have taken the TOEFL two or more times in a two year period. If this applies to you (or if you are considering a retake), below is a breakdown of how MyBest combines your best section scores into a single score report.

Under the TOEFL’s new MyBest scoring system, if you’ve taken the TOEFL more than once and you request a TOEFL score report, your score report will combine the highest TOEFL section scores from each of your past exams.

For an example of how this can work, let’s say that you take the TOEFL once and get the following:

• Reading 25
• Listening 24
• Speaking 28
• Writing 23
• WHOLE TEST SCORE: 100

Then suppose you take the TOEFL a second time, and get:

• Reading 24
• Listening 26
• Speaking 27
• Writing 26
• WHOLE TEST SCORE: 103

If you order a score report after those two exams, your score report will be a MyBest score report, and will be as follows:

• Reading 25 (higher score from first exam)
• Listening 26 (higher score from second exam)
• Speaking 28 (higher score from first exam)
• Writing 26 (higher score from second exam)
• WHOLE TEST SCORE: 105

This also means that even though your score on the first exam was 100 and your score on the second exam alone would be 103, your MyBest score report would show a total score of 105, using your best scores from each.

In short, the new MyBest score system may help you if:

• You have taken the TOEFL more than once in the last two years or are considering a retake.
• Some of your section scores meet your requirements, but others don’t.
• Boosting your score in just one part of the exam will get your whole test score to where it needs to be.

So for many of you reading this, the MyBest changes to TOEFL scoring are certainly something to consider. But again, if you’ve only taken the test once, and that got you the score you need, no need to worry about this. 🙂

My Whole Application is Great! What is a Good TOEFL Score for Me?

Consider the quality of the rest of your application. If you have a very strong admissions essay, an excellent past academic record, recent coursework that was taught in English, etc., a lower TOEFL score may still be seen as “good” by schools. Or at least, a low TOEFL score can be seen as good enough.

In fact, if you have a TOEFL score that’s just below the minimum, but the rest of your application materials are excellent, you should ask your school if you can still be considered for acceptance. Many schools will say yes. (There are also many schools that won’t be flexible, of course.) Good luck!