Since January 2026 TOEFL reports four section scores and an overall score on a 1 to 6 scale in half-point increments, aligned to the CEFR. The overall is the average of the four sections, rounded to the nearest half band — an average of 5.25 is reported as 5.5.
You also get the old number, for now. For a two-year transition period the report carries a comparable overall score on the 0 to 120 scale. That is deliberate: institutions are still rewriting their published requirements, and plenty still state a number in the old scale.
Reading a requirement written in the old scale. ETS publishes a comparison for tests taken before 21 January 2026. The shape of it, for the totals students meet most often:
- 95 or above on the old total corresponds to 5
- 107 or above corresponds to 5.5
- 114 or above corresponds to 6
- 86 or above corresponds to 4.5
- 72 or above corresponds to 4
The full table, section by section, is on our TOEFL results and scores guide.
Section minimums are what fail applications. Most programmes ask for an overall AND a minimum in each section — under the old scale typically "90 overall with no section below 20", which reads as roughly an overall 4.5 to 5 with no section below 4. A candidate strong in reading and weak in speaking can clear the overall and miss the requirement, and that is a very common shape for an Indian engineering graduate.
MyBest scores. Your report includes ETS's superscore, combining your best section scores across valid test dates in the last two years. It can turn two uneven attempts into one strong report — but whether a university accepts it is entirely the university's decision, and many do not. Never build a retake plan on MyBest without written confirmation.
If a section is short. There is no single-section retake on TOEFL: you sit the whole test again. A section score review for Speaking or Writing costs US$80 for one or US$160 for both, and unlike the IELTS equivalent it is not refunded if the score changes. For most candidates another attempt — now a two-hour test rather than three — is the better use of the money.