TOEIC Score Chart: Scale, CEFR Levels, Conversion

TOEIC Listening and Reading gives you three numbers: a Listening score from 5 to 495, a Reading score from 5 to 495, and a total from 10 to 990. What it does not give you is a fixed conversion table from “questions correct” to “score” — and that is by design, not an omission.

This page sets out the official scale, the CEFR levels ETS maps TOEIC scores onto, and what a realistic estimate from a practice test looks like.

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Key Takeaways

• Listening and Reading are each scored 5 to 495; the total is the sum, so 10 to 990.
• Each section has 100 questions, and there is no penalty for a wrong answer — never leave a blank.
• ETS converts raw correct answers to scaled scores by statistical equating, so the same raw score can give slightly different scaled scores on different test forms.
• The standard error of measurement is about 25 scaled points per section, so a 20-point difference between two attempts is not clear evidence of a real change.
• ETS maps a Reading score of 385 and a Listening score of 400 to CEFR B2; ETS publishes these minimums per section, not for the total.

The official score scale

Section	Questions	Time	Score range
Listening (Parts 1-4)	100	About 45 minutes	5-495
Reading (Parts 5-7)	100	75 minutes	5-495
Total	200	About 2 hours	10-990

Note the floor: the minimum is 5 per section, not 0. A candidate who answers nothing still records 5 and 5.

Why there is no official conversion chart

ETS states that the number of correct responses in each section is converted to the 5-495 scale by a statistical procedure whose purpose is to make scores from different administration dates mean the same thing. That procedure is equating, and it adjusts for the difficulty of the particular test form you sat.

Consequence	What it means for you
The same raw score maps to different scaled scores on different forms	Any conversion chart is an approximation, including the one below
Harder forms are equated upward	You are not punished for sitting a difficult version
Scores are comparable across years	A 750 from 2019 means what a 750 means now
No raw cut score is published	“How many can I get wrong for 800?” has no single answer

Approximate raw-to-scaled estimate (per section)

Use this to read a practice test, not to predict an official result. The real conversion depends on the form you sit.

Correct out of 100	Approximate section score	Approximate two-section total at this rate
95-100	465-495	930-990
90-94	430-465	860-930
85-89	400-430	800-860
80-84	370-400	740-800
75-79	340-370	680-740
70-74	310-345	620-690
60-69	255-310	510-620
50-59	205-255	410-510
40-49	155-205	310-410
30-39	110-155	220-310
20-29	65-110	130-220
Under 20	5-65	10-130

Treat any single number from this table as the middle of a band about 50 points wide, for the reason in the next section.

Standard error of measurement: how much your score can move

ETS puts the standard error of measurement at about 25 scaled points for each section. That is the average gap between a true score and an obtained score.

Your section score	Range your true ability plausibly sits in	Reading of a change
350	Roughly 325-375	A move to 365 is noise
400	Roughly 375-425	A move to 420 is noise
450	Roughly 425-475	A move to 470 is noise

Two practical consequences. First, a 20-point difference between two attempts is not clear evidence of improvement: ETS puts the standard error of difference between two attempts at about 35 scaled points per section. Second, if you need a specific score for a job or a visa, target 40 to 60 points above it so that measurement error does not decide your outcome.

Official CEFR mapping (ETS)

These are the minimum section scores ETS publishes for each CEFR level. ETS publishes them per section, not for the total, and describes them as guidelines rather than rigid cut scores.

CEFR level	Minimum Listening score	Minimum Reading score
A1 (Breakthrough)	60	60
A2 (Waystage)	110	115
B1 (Threshold)	275	275
B2 (Vantage)	400	385
C1 (Effective operational proficiency)	490	455 (based on 45% of panelists)

Two things follow from the table. Reading reaches B2 at a lower score than Listening (385 against 400), and C1 in Listening requires 490 out of a 495 maximum — effectively a near-perfect Listening section.

TOEIC to CEFR checker

Enter your TOEIC section scores to see the CEFR level each one reaches on the ETS mapping above.

What common target scores translate to

Target total	Typical balanced split	Rough CEFR position	Commonly required for
500	270 L / 230 R	High A2 in Listening (B1 starts at 275), high A2 in Reading	Entry-level roles with some English contact
600	320 L / 280 R	B1 both skills	General office roles, many graduation requirements
700	375 L / 325 R	Upper B1, approaching B2 in Listening	Client-facing roles, internal promotion thresholds
800	420 L / 380 R	B2 in Listening, just below the B2 line in Reading (B2 starts at 385)	Management tracks, international assignments
900	470 L / 430 R	Solid B2, Reading near C1	Senior international roles, competitive selection

The splits are typical, not required. A 700 built from 400 Listening and 300 Reading is the same total as 350 and 350 but a different profile, and employers who look at the section scores will read them differently.

Which section to push first

Your profile	Push	Reason
Listening more than 60 points above Reading	Reading	Reading gains come from a closed set of grammar and collocation rules, so they are faster
Reading more than 60 points above Listening	Listening	Usually a pacing problem in Parts 3 and 4, fixable by learning to read questions ahead
Both under 300	Vocabulary	Below B1 the limit is word coverage, not technique
Both 400-450	Reading timing	At this level most lost marks are unanswered Part 7 questions, not wrong ones

Scoring rules worth knowing before test day

1. There is no deduction for a wrong answer. Answer all 200 questions, including guesses.
2. Unanswered questions score as wrong, so a blank costs you the same as a guess with none of the upside.
3. Listening runs at the pace of the audio — you cannot bank time in Part 1 and spend it in Part 4.
4. Reading is self-paced across 75 minutes for all three parts, so the whole time budget is yours to allocate.
5. Section scores are reported separately, and many organisations set a minimum on Listening or Reading rather than on the total.

FAQ

What is a good TOEIC score?

It depends on the requirement, not on a universal standard. Around 600 covers most general office requirements, 800 is a common threshold for management and international roles, and above 900 is competitive selection territory. Check the specific minimum you need, and target 40 to 60 points above it because of measurement error.

Is there an official TOEIC raw score conversion table?

No. ETS converts the number of correct answers to the 5 to 495 scale through statistical equating so that scores from different test dates are comparable. Because the adjustment depends on the form you sat, no fixed public table exists, and every conversion chart online is an estimate.

What is the maximum TOEIC Listening and Reading score?

990 in total: 495 for Listening and 495 for Reading. The minimum is 10, since each section has a floor of 5 rather than 0.

Does a wrong answer lose me marks?

No. There is no penalty for an incorrect answer, so leaving a question blank has the same score effect as guessing wrongly but removes any chance of being right. Answer all 200.

What CEFR level is a TOEIC score of 700?

It depends on the split. ETS maps B2 at 400 in Listening and 385 in Reading, so a 700 made of 375 Listening and 325 Reading sits at upper B1 in both skills, while a 700 made of 420 and 280 is B2 in Listening and B1 in Reading. Because ETS publishes the CEFR minimums per section, read the two sections separately rather than converting the total.

How much can my score change between attempts?

The standard error of measurement is about 25 scaled points per section, so differences of 20 to 30 points on a section are within normal variation rather than evidence of progress or decline.

Related practice resources

• TOEIC Part 7 practice questions
• TOEIC Part 1 practice questions
• TOEIC grammar rules for Part 5 and 6

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