Free tool · Academic and General Training Reading · No sign-up
IELTS Reading score converter: raw score to approximate band
Enter how many of the 40 questions you got right and choose Academic or General Training. You get an approximate band based on the reference points IELTS publishes, with the source shown below.
Convert your Reading score
Enter how many of the 40 questions you answered correctly in a full practice test.
Your approximate band will appear here.
The published reference points
ielts.org gives the average number of correct answers (out of 40) needed for these bands. They are the only Reading figures the tool treats as published; everything else is shown as a range.
| Correct answers (out of 40) | Band |
|---|---|
| 15 | 5.0 |
| 23 | 6.0 |
| 30 | 7.0 |
| 35 | 8.0 |
| Correct answers (out of 40) | Band |
|---|---|
| 15 | 4.0 |
| 23 | 5.0 |
| 30 | 6.0 |
| 35 | 7.0 |
How to use your result
- Use full, timed tests. A score from a few passages of a test tells you little about all three.
- Pick the right module. Academic and General Training have different texts and different bands for the same score.
- Look at the gap to your target. If you need band 7 in Academic, aim for about 30 or more correct answers.
- Combine it with the other sections in the overall band calculator, or check your Listening score.
Questions about Reading scores
Why does it give a range instead of one band?
ielts.org publishes the average marks needed for only four bands in each Reading test. For marks in between, the honest answer is a range of two bands. Websites that show a mark-by-mark table are using unofficial tables, and those tables disagree with each other by a mark or two at several bands.
Are the General Training bands lower for the same score?
Yes. General Training Reading uses everyday texts, and more correct answers are needed for the same band. On the published reference points, 30 out of 40 is about band 7 in Academic Reading but about band 6 in General Training Reading.
Can I trust the result for the real test?
Treat it as a guide. The number of marks needed varies slightly between test versions, practice tests differ in difficulty, and the real band is decided by IELTS, not by this tool.
Related free tools
Reading is marked by answer key. Writing is not
Writing is the section you cannot mark yourself. Write one answer and get an estimated band for each of the four criteria. Your first check needs no account.
Source: IELTS scoring in detail on ielts.org, read 3 November 2026. The page adds that the exact marks needed vary slightly from one test version to another. English Test Coach is independent of IELTS, and this is an approximate guide, not an official converter.