Updated October 2026
The TOEFL iBT 2026 format: what changed
ETS introduced a redesigned TOEFL iBT in January 2026. The test is shorter, two of its sections adapt to the test taker, and scores are reported on a new scale. This page summarises what is different.
Four sections, in the same order
The test still measures four skills, and they come in the order they always have: Reading, Listening, Writing, then Speaking.
What changed is what happens inside each section. The long passages, long lectures and integrated tasks of the earlier test have been replaced by a larger number of shorter tasks. Some are academic, and some are taken from everyday and campus life, such as reading a notice or replying to an email.
About 90 minutes
The whole test now takes about 90 minutes, down from roughly two hours. As a guide, Reading and Listening each take around half an hour or a little less, Writing a little over 20 minutes and Speaking under 10.
The exact length differs slightly from one test to another, because the adaptive sections do not give every test taker the same set of questions.
Two-stage adaptive Reading and Listening
Reading and Listening are each delivered in two stages, usually called modules. Everyone starts with a first module of mixed difficulty. How you do there decides which second module you get: a harder one or an easier one.
Your score depends on the difficulty of the questions you were given as well as on how many you answered correctly, so being moved to the harder second module is a good sign and not a penalty. Writing and Speaking are not adaptive: every test taker gets the same kinds of task.
Band scores from 1 to 6
Each section is reported as a band from 1 to 6 in half-band steps. The overall score is the average of the four section bands, so there is no longer a total out of 120 at the centre of the report. The scale is designed to line up with the CEFR levels that many institutions already use.
During a transition period, score reports also show a comparable score on the earlier 0–120 scale, for institutions that still state their requirements that way.
What this means for your preparation
Materials written for the test before 2026 no longer match what you will see: the task types, the timing and the score scale are all different. Check the date of anything you practise with.
Because the sections are short and follow each other directly, it is worth sitting at least one full-length practice test in a single sitting, so that the pace and the change of difficulty between modules are familiar before test day.
This is an independent summary written for test takers. ETS publishes the official specification of the test on its own website.