TOEFL iBT® Reading Score Calculation: Marking Scheme, Score Interpretation
"Master the TOEFL Reading score calculation! Learn about the marking scheme and score descriptors, ensuring you ace your test results."
Key Highlights
Understanding how the TOEFL® Reading score is calculated, including the TOEFL reading marking scheme and the score descriptors, is essential for anyone preparing to take the test.
In this blog, we will delve into the calculation of the TOEFL iBT reading score, including a detailed discussion on the TOEFL reading grading scale.
Overview of the TOEFL® Reading Test
The Reading section of the TOEFL exam assesses your ability to understand and analyse written academic texts. The duration of this section is 35 minutes.
In this section, you will be given two passages that are followed by 10 questions each, with a total of 20 questions. These passages are usually drawn from university-level textbooks and cover a variety of topics, including arts, sciences, social sciences, and more.
The TOEFL Reading test evaluates different reading skills through a range of question types. The table below provides an overview of the different question types you may face in the TOEFL Reading section.
Type of Questions |
Sub-divisions |
Basic Information & Inferencing (MCQs) |
|
Reading to Learn |
|
Check Out - TOEFL Reading Practice Tests
How is the TOEFL Reading Score Calculated?
The TOEFL Reading is graded on a scale of 0 to 30, and your score for this section will be determined by the number of correct answers.
There are two types of questions that are usually given in the TOEFL Reading section - multiple-choice questions and Reading to Learn questions. While the MCQs carry one mark each, the latter type carries 2-3 marks.
Computer programs calculate and determine the TOEFL reading score. In other words, the reading portion questions have predetermined answers, and you are expected to match the answers entered into the computer database for the TOEFL reading exam.
The TOEFL reading score is divided into four ranges and determines your skill level. Let’s have to look at them in the table below.
Level |
TOEFL Reading Score Range |
Advanced |
24–30 |
High-Intermediate |
18-23 |
Low-Intermediate |
4-17 |
Below Low-Intermediate |
0-3 |
TOEFL Reading Score Calculator: From Raw Score to Scaled Score
There are two types of Reading scores in TOEFL - Raw score and Scaled score. While the TOEFL reading raw scores display your point total for each correct response on the test, the scaled score is the final score on your score report.
The raw score is converted to a scaled score to ensure consistency and fairness across different test versions. This conversion accounts for the difficulty level of the questions in a particular test edition.
The scaled score for the Reading section ranges from 0 to 30. The raw score can be scaled using a fixed TOEFL raw score conversion reading table that has been verified and made available by ETS. Technically, the conversion table or system is called a "rubric," which is a scoring guide that lists the particular exam-related components that are needed to calculate the final result.
Let us have a look at the TOEFL reading conversion table that is provided in the latest official guide to TOEFL.
TOEFL Reading Raw Score |
TOEFL Reading Scaled Score |
22 |
30 |
21 |
29-30 |
20 |
28-30 |
19 |
26-29 |
18 |
24-29 |
17 |
22-28 |
16 |
21-26 |
15 |
19-25 |
14 |
18-23 |
13 |
16-22 |
12 |
14-20 |
11 |
12-19 |
10 |
11-17 |
9 |
9-16 |
8 |
7-14 |
7 |
4-12 |
6 |
3-10 |
5 |
1-7 |
4 |
0-4 |
3 |
0-2 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Learn more about what is a good TOEFL reading score!
Importance of TOEFL iBT Reading Score Calculator
The TOEFL iBT reading score conversion table or calculator provides you with the scaled score that universities and institutions use to assess your English proficiency. Most universities require a minimum TOEFL score for admission, which can vary by institution and program.
Therefore, learning and understanding how to calculate the TOEFL reading score using the TOEFL reading score calculator helps you gauge how well you need to perform to meet your target institution's requirements.
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