What is a good IELTS score?

What IELTS calls a good score

IELTS gives every band a name. It calls band 7 a good user and band 8 a very good user. Band 6 is a competent user.

The names tell you how well you use English. A university or a visa doesn't look at the name, though. It looks at the number. So start with the score your own goal asks for.

A good IELTS score for Australian universities

Our directory lists 38 Australian universities. For undergraduate courses, 16 of them ask for 6.5 overall and 22 ask for 6.0. For postgraduate courses, every one asks for 6.5.

That overall band is only half of the rule. Many universities also set a lowest band for each skill. The University of Sydney, for example, asks for 6.5 overall with no band below 6.0.

Some courses ask for more than the university's usual score. Check the page for your course before you set your target.

A good IELTS score for an Australian visa

The Department of Home Affairs uses three English levels. Each one asks for the same band in all four skills. Both IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training are accepted.

Your overall band isn't part of the check. For Proficient English, you need 7 in listening, 7 in reading, 7 in writing and 7 in speaking.

Proficient English earns 10 points on the skilled migration points test, and Superior English earns 20. Competent English earns none. So on a points-tested visa, 7 or 8 in every skill can earn you points that 6 doesn't.

Which level you need depends on your visa. Home Affairs sets that rule, so read the page for your visa before you book a test.

Why your lowest skill matters more than your overall band

Your overall band is the average of your four skills, rounded to the nearest half band. A strong skill can lift the average and hide a weak one.

IELTS shows this with an example. A test taker scores 6.5 in listening, 6.5 in reading, 5.0 in writing and 7.0 in speaking. Their overall band is 6.5.

That looks like a good score. But a university that asks for no band below 6.0 would turn it down, because of the 5.0 in writing. It doesn't reach Competent English for a visa either, because that needs 6 in every skill.

So when you plan your study, look at your lowest band first. Raising it by half a band often does more for you than raising your best skill by a whole band.

How your band compares with other test takers

IELTS publishes how many people reach each band. Among Academic test takers who wanted a university course, about 44 per cent scored 6.5 or higher overall. Only about 14 per cent scored 7.5 or higher.

So if you have 7 overall, you're doing well. About 74 per cent of those university applicants scored below it.

People who take General Training for immigration tend to score higher. Of them, about 41 per cent reached 7 or higher overall.

These are overall bands. A 7 in every skill is harder to get than a 7 overall, so fewer people reach Proficient English than this table shows.

Across the four skills, writing has the lowest average for Academic test takers. If you're not sure which skill will hold you back, it's often writing.

How to set your own target

1. Find the English rule on your course page. Write down the overall band and the lowest band it allows in each skill.
2. If you also need a visa, find the English level it asks for. Write down the band it needs in each skill.
3. For each skill, take the higher of the two numbers. That's your target for that skill.
4. Take a practice test and compare your bands with your targets. Start with the skill that's furthest from its target.

Find your band before test day

Our IELTS Listening and Reading practice tests are free, and you see your band when you finish. Each writing task also gives you one free marked answer, so you can see your writing band too.

Then compare each band with your target for that skill.