TOEIC Scoring

TOEIC examination is conducted by ETS as a standardized method of measuring the level of language proficiency candidates have in English as is required in a workplace. When exams like TOEFL and IELTS are mostly conducted for academic space and are based on academic content, the setting and atmospheres used in the TOEIC examination are strictly about a professional environment and are used not for gaining admission into colleges but for finding jobs and being eligible for promotions.

Being a language proficiency test, TOEIC does not have a pass or fail grade and is scored using score bands each of which indicates a certain level of knowledge the candidate will have in the language. The number of score bands present and what they imply changes from section to section and the final score report will include individual scores and combined scores. Candidates will be able to take the tests for Listening and Reading, and Speaking and Writing separately out of which the Speaking and Writing sections can be taken individually as well according to the requirement of the candidate.

Scoring in TOEIC Listening and Reading Test

The TOEIC Listening and Reading Test contains only multiple-choice questions and hence has certain objectivity to the scoring process involved. Candidates will be able to request additional score reports by contacting their nearest EPN office. The listening and the Reading sections of the test each contain a different set of score bands with the former containing only 3 score bands and the latter containing 4.

The score levels that candidates can achieve and the proficiency level it indicates is as follows-

TOEIC Listening Scoring

There are 3 score bands in the listening section which are 400, 300, and 200 where 400 is the expert level and 200 implies that the candidate is not well-versed in the language. The implications of the score bands are as follows-

• 400
  1. Candidate can understand the central idea of the content provided despite the extensive vocabulary used.
  2. Candidate does not rely on repetition of content.
  3. Candidate can understand negative constructions in statements and connect information.
  4. Candidate may not be able to process uncommon phrases and grammar.
• 300
  1. Candidate can sometimes infer the central idea but has general difficulty when statements are indirect.
  2. Candidate requires repetition of content to process difficult vocabulary.
  3. Candidate can understand short passages but not if there is syntactic complexity involved.
  4. Candidate finds it difficult to understand paraphrased information but requires the requested information to come at the beginning or end of the conversation.
• 200
  1. Candidate can understand short sentences and long sentences if the context is explicitly clear.
  2. Candidate has trouble understanding content even when the language is direct if the information is unexpected.
  3. Candidate can understand the details in extended texts if the information comes at the beginning or end of the sentence and if it matches the spoken text.
  4. Candidate cannot process paraphrased information or difficult grammatical constructions.

TOEIC Reading Scoring

The score bands in the reading section range from 450 to 150 where the bands are 450, 350, 250, and 150. The implications of each of these score bands are as follows-

• 450
  1. Candidate will be able to understand the central idea and infer details but have trouble if the information is too dense.
  2. Candidate can read for meaning and understand factual information even while paraphrased.
  3. Candidate has a wide range of vocabulary and understands idiomatic usage. They can also understand uncommon grammatical constructions.
• 350
  1. Candidate can understand the central idea of the test but cannot connect information across paragraphs.
  2. Candidate can understand paraphrased information and has a medium-level vocabulary.
  3. Candidate does not understand difficult vocabulary or idiomatic usage but has an understanding of uncommon grammatical constructions.
• 250
  1. Candidate can only understand parts of the text but not if the content has been paraphrased.
  2. Candidate can connect information within one or two sentences but not beyond that.
  3. Candidate understands uncommon grammatical structures but cannot understand difficult vocabulary.
• 150
  1. Candidate can locate answers to factual questions but cannot understand the passage provided.
  2. Candidate can only understand easy vocabulary and common phrases.
  3. Candidate can understand only rule-based grammar but cannot understand even basic grammatical constructions.

Scoring in TOEIC Speaking and Writing Test

The scores in the TOEIC Speaking and Writing test are reported separately for each section and cannot be compared to each other. There will be no combined score in the section and the score will be reported on a scale of 0-200. There are 8 proficiency levels for the Speaking section whereas there are 9 proficiency levels for the Writing section. The score distribution for each of these sections is as follows-

TOEIC Speaking Score

There are 6 tasks in the speaking section of the test and the responses are recorded during the test day and sent to ETS where they will be evaluated accordingly.

Proficiency Level	Scaled Score	Description
8	190-200	Connected, sustained discourse-highly intelligible and appropriate for workspace
7	160-180	Sustained, connected discourse with minor difficulties in pronunciation
6	130-150	Relevant response with grammatical error and limited vocabulary
5	110-120	Inaccurate language with repetition. Limited vocabulary
4	80-100	Unsuccessful in communicating. Long Pauses. Hesitates
3	60-70	Difficulty in stating opinion. Provides basic information
2	40-50	Cannot state an opinion. Does not respond to requests
1	0-30	Unanswered questions

TOEIC Writing Score

The writing score is calculated between a scale of 0-200 with each score band representing a certain proficiency level the candidate has in the language. The descriptions for the score bands are as follows-

Proficiency Level	Scaled Score	Description
9	200	Can communicate straightforward information. Use examples
8	170-190	Has occasional repetition of ideas. Minor grammatical errors
7	140-160	Has relevant ideas but unclear connections between points
6	110-130	Partially successful. Grammatical inaccuracies. Omits information
5	90-100	Partially successful. Omits information. Serious grammatical errors
4	70-80	Can develop information but not enough examples. Grammatical errors
3	50-60	Limited ability to express opinion. Disorganized. Underdeveloped ideas
2	40	Disorganized. No detail. Frequent grammatical errors
1	0-30	Unanswered questions

Scoring in TOEIC Bridge Test

In the assessment during the TOEIC Bridge Test, ETS checks the Listening and Reading skills of the candidates using multiple-choice questions. The score range for each of the sections is between 15 and 50 with a total test score ranging between 30 and 100 in all.

TOEIC Certificate of Achievement

TOEIC provides candidates with a Certificate of Achievement that will include information present in the score report. But this Certificate of Achievement cannot be used instead of the score report. They are provided in a format where they can be framed by the candidate to showcase their achievement. Candidates are supposed to provide only their score report as proof of the official score or for other score verification purposes.

TOEIC Score Validity

The validity of the TOEIC Score Report is for a total of only 2 years. Within this duration, candidates will be able to avail of their score report as many times as possible by requesting the same from the authorities. Once the validity has expired, the candidate will be able to retake the examination as many times as possible given that they take the test only once in 28 days and that they pay the required fee for each attempt.