Your overall IELTS band is the average of the four module bands, rounded to the nearest 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 band. So 6.5, 6.5, 5.0 and 7.0 average 6.25, which gives an overall 6.5.
Enter Listening and Reading as correct answers out of 40 or as bands, and pick Writing and Speaking bands. The calculator converts the raw scores, shows the average and the rounding, and tells you how many half bands you need for the next overall score.
The official rounding rule
IELTS publishes the rule on its own scoring page. Add the four bands, divide by 4, then round:
| Average ends in | Rounded | Example | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|
| .0 or .125 | down to the whole band | 6.5, 6.5, 5.5, 6.0 = 6.125 | 6.0 |
| .25 or .375 | up to the half band | 6.5, 6.5, 5.0, 7.0 = 6.25 | 6.5 |
| .5 or .625 | to the half band (.625 goes down) | 7.0, 6.5, 6.0, 6.5 = 6.5 | 6.5 |
| .75 or .875 | up to the next whole band | 4.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.0 = 3.875 | 4.0 |
Because each module is marked in half bands, the average can only end in .0, .125, .25, .375, .5, .625, .75 or .875. The simple test: work out the average, then go to the nearest half band, rounding a tie upwards.
Listening: correct answers to band
Listening has 40 questions and is the same for Academic and General Training.
| Correct answers out of 40 | Band |
|---|---|
| 39 to 40 | 9.0 |
| 37 to 38 | 8.5 |
| 35 to 36 | 8.0 |
| 32 to 34 | 7.5 |
| 30 to 31 | 7.0 |
| 26 to 29 | 6.5 |
| 23 to 25 | 6.0 |
| 18 to 22 | 5.5 |
| 16 to 17 | 5.0 |
| 13 to 15 | 4.5 |
| 10 to 12 | 4.0 |
IELTS itself confirms 16 correct answers for band 5, 23 for band 6, 30 for band 7 and 35 for band 8. The other rows are the conversion printed with IELTS practice tests.
Academic Reading: correct answers to band
| Correct answers out of 40 | Band |
|---|---|
| 39 to 40 | 9.0 |
| 37 to 38 | 8.5 |
| 35 to 36 | 8.0 |
| 33 to 34 | 7.5 |
| 30 to 32 | 7.0 |
| 27 to 29 | 6.5 |
| 23 to 26 | 6.0 |
| 19 to 22 | 5.5 |
| 15 to 18 | 5.0 |
| 13 to 14 | 4.5 |
| 10 to 12 | 4.0 |
Confirmed by IELTS: 15 for band 5, 23 for band 6, 30 for band 7 and 35 for band 8.
General Training Reading: correct answers to band
| Correct answers out of 40 | Band |
|---|---|
| 40 | 9.0 |
| 39 | 8.5 |
| 37 to 38 | 8.0 |
| 36 | 7.5 |
| 34 to 35 | 7.0 |
| 32 to 33 | 6.5 |
| 30 to 31 | 6.0 |
| 27 to 29 | 5.5 |
| 23 to 26 | 5.0 |
| 19 to 22 | 4.5 |
| 15 to 18 | 4.0 |
| 12 to 14 | 3.5 |
| 9 to 11 | 3.0 |
General Training Reading texts are easier, so more correct answers are needed for the same band. Confirmed by IELTS: 15 for band 4, 23 for band 5, 30 for band 6 and 35 for band 7.
These tables are approximate. IELTS says the marks needed for each band vary slightly between test versions, to keep every paper equally hard. Use them to check practice tests; your Test Report Form is the only final score.
Worked example
This is the example loaded in the calculator. An Academic candidate gets 31 in Listening and 28 in Reading, with Writing 6.0 and Speaking 6.5.
- Listening 31 out of 40 is band 7.0 (30 to 31).
- Academic Reading 28 out of 40 is band 6.5 (27 to 29).
- Total: 7.0 + 6.5 + 6.0 + 6.5 = 26.0.
- Average: 26.0 ÷ 4 = 6.5, so the overall band is 6.5.
To reach an overall 7.0, the average must be at least 6.75, which means a total of 27.0. That is two more half bands, for example Writing 6.5 and Speaking 7.0.
IELTS score questions
How is the IELTS overall band calculated?
Add the four module bands and divide by 4. Round to the nearest half band, with an average ending in .25 going up to the half band and .75 going up to the whole band. Listening 7.0, Reading 6.5, Writing 6.0, Speaking 6.0 average 6.375, which gives 6.5.
How many correct answers do I need for band 7 in Listening?
About 30 out of 40. IELTS confirms 30 correct answers as band 7 in Listening. For band 7 in Academic Reading you also need about 30, and in General Training Reading about 34.
Is 6.25 rounded to 6 or 6.5 in IELTS?
It rounds up to 6.5. IELTS rounds an average ending in .25 up to the next half band. An average of 6.125 rounds down to 6.0, and 6.75 rounds up to 7.0.
Why are General Training Reading scores different from Academic?
The General Training texts are shorter and more everyday, so you need more correct answers for the same band. 30 correct is about band 7 in Academic Reading but about band 6 in General Training Reading.
How are Writing and Speaking scored?
Examiners mark them against published band descriptors. Writing uses task achievement or task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy. Speaking uses fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation. There is no raw score to convert, so enter your band.
Last reviewed 30 September 2026. Results are estimates; official notices always take precedence.