How IELTS Reading is Scored

Learn how IELTS reading is scored and raw scores are converted into band scores.

The International English Language Testing System (IELTSTM) Reading Test assesses your English reading skills, which includes your ability to read for gist, read for main ideas, skim text, understand logical argument, and recognise writers' opinions, attitudes, and purpose.

The academic test consists of 40 questions based on three long texts taken from books, journals, newspapers, and magazines. The texts may also contain diagrams, graphs, or illustrations. For every question answered correctly, you gain one point, leading to a maximum raw score of 40.

General training works in the same way, though the types of reading differ to those of the academic test.

How IELTS Reading is Scored Through Conversion 

Here's how IELTS reading is scored by converting your raw score in the test using the IELTS Band Scale:

Band Score Conversion Table

You can also automatically convert your IELTS reading raw score to a band score with our Band Score Calculator.

Rounding Down

To understand how IELTS reading is scored, you must also note that in the Reading Test, your final score is rounded down to the nearest 0.5 or whole score.

This means that if your total score is a fraction, it gets rounded down. For example, if your total converted band score is 6.75, the final score is reported to be 6.5.

Overall Score

Moreover, your reading score contributes a quarter of your total IELTS band score. For an overall band score, the scores of four module tests (Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing) are combined and an average is taken. All scores are rounded to the nearest 0.5 or whole band.

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