How the calculation works
Your overall IELTS band is the average of your Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking scores, rounded to the nearest whole or half band. The rounding has one well-known quirk: an average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band, and an average ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band - both round up, never down.
| Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking | Average | Overall band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.5 | 7.0 | 6.0 | 6.5 | 6.75 | 7.0 |
| 6.5 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.5 | 6.25 | 6.5 |
| 7.0 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
This calculator only does the arithmetic. It can't tell you what your Writing or Speaking score actually is - those are assessed against the official band descriptors by a person, not a formula. If you want an honest read on your current level in any of the four skills, that's the first thing covered in a trial session.
Every skill counts equally
Because the overall band is a plain average, each skill counts for exactly one quarter: a half-band gain in any one skill adds 0.125 to your average, whether it is your strongest skill or your weakest. Whether that gain lifts your overall band depends on where your average sits against the rounding points (.25 and .75), so check your own four scores in the calculator above.
See where each skill is typically won or lost: Speaking and Writing have their own detailed breakdowns.