The TOEFL iBT test from January 2026

A shorter, adaptive test

• From January 2026 the TOEFL iBT is adaptive: it adjusts to your ability level.
• ETS asks you to allow about two hours; time and items may vary as the test adapts.
• It still has four sections: Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking.

The test got shorter; your collection of open prep tabs may not.

Reading and Listening

• Reading, about 30 minutes and 50 items: Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life, Read an Academic Passage.
• Listening, about 29 minutes and 47 items: Listen and Choose a Response, Listen to a Conversation, Listen to an Announcement, Listen to an Academic Talk.
• Everyday English now sits next to academic English, so practise both.

Writing and Speaking

• Writing, about 23 minutes and 12 items: Build a Sentence, Write an Email, Write for an Academic Discussion.
• Speaking, about 8 minutes and 11 items: Listen and Repeat, Take an Interview.
• Listen and Repeat belongs to Speaking: you are scored on what you say back.

The 1 to 6 score scale

• You get four section scores and an overall score, each from 1 to 6 in half-point steps.
• The overall score is the average of the four sections, rounded to the nearest half: 5.25 becomes 5.5, 5.125 becomes 5.
• The scale lines up with CEFR: 1–1.5 A1, 2–2.5 A2, 3–3.5 B1, 4–4.5 B2, 5–5.5 C1, 6 C2.

Old and new scores

• Until January 2028, every score report shows three things: the CEFR level, the 1 to 6 scores and a comparable 0 to 120 overall score.
• A university that still writes its requirement on the 0 to 120 scale can compare it with that number.
• Sources, checked on 13 September 2026: TOEFL iBT score scale update, TOEFL iBT content and structure.