How to Convert Specimen Test Scores into Band Scores

The tables below give you a guide for converting your specimen test results into Band scores. In the real tests, each test has its own unique conversion table because there are sometimes slight differences between tests. The tables below are the approximate raw scores needed for each Band score.

You should consider that these tables are quite accurate for: a) the IELTS Specimen Tests that are published by the same people who produce the real IELTS tests and, b) The Cambridge IELTS Practice Tests. For any other specimen tests, these figures would be much less accurate because the tests themselves vary in how well they accurately represent real IELTS tests.

There are two sets of figures for each test, for example, Band 4 for listening represents these raw test scores: “10 – 16 (or 10 – 15)”. The left-hand numbers are from one person who claims to know the conversion numbers and the right-hand numbers are from another person. I have no idea which of these two people is the more accurate. The sources of this information are at the bottom of this page.

In those cases where the test has less than or more than 40 questions, these tables will be somewhat inaccurate.

You can also see a similar table on the official IELTS website, www.ielts.org, HERE.

Listening

RAW SCORE	BAND SCORE
1	1
2–3	2
4–9	3
10–16 (or 10–15)	4
17–24 (or 16–22)	5
25–32 (or 23–29)	6
33–37 (or 30–34)	7
38–39 (or 35–38)	8
40 (or 39–40)	9

Academic Reading

RAW SCORE	BAND SCORE
1	1
2–3	2
4–9	3
10–15 (or 10–14)	4
16–22 (or 15–22)	5
23–28 (or 23–29)	6
29–35 (or 30–34)	7
36–39 (or 35–38)	8
40 (or 39–40)	9

General Training Reading

RAW SCORE	BAND SCORE
1–2 (or 1)	1
3–5 (or 2–7)	2
6–11 (or 8–14)	3
12–17 (or 15–22)	4
18–25 (or 23–29)	5
26–34 (or 30–33)	6
35–37 (or 34–37)	7
38–39	8
40	9

Source of the left-hand-side numbers

http://www.aippg.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10502&highlight=table+change+results+band+score

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Source of the right-hand-side numbers (called “or”)

http://www.aippg.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=50909

This person has a handy conversion calculator here:

http://www.ielts-blog.com/Calculate-Ielts-Result-Reading-Listening-Band-Score.html

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How to Convert Specimen Test Scores into Band Scores

Listening

BAND SCORE

Academic Reading

BAND SCORE

General Training Reading

RAW SCORE

BAND SCORE

Source of the left-hand-side numbers