TOEFL iBT 2026 Format: Every Section and Task Type Explained

On January 21, 2026, ETS changed the TOEFL iBT far more than most prep material admits. The score scale moved from 0–120 to 1–6, and all four sections were rebuilt around new, shorter task types. If your study plan is based on the 2023–2025 exam — two long reading passages, four speaking tasks with prep time, an integrated essay — it describes a test that is no longer given.

The 2026 TOEFL iBT at a Glance

The task names, item counts and timings below come from ETS's own test-content page.

ETS describes these as approximate base figures and notes that because the test adapts, the time and number of items can vary. It tells test-takers to allow about two hours in total, since the figures above exclude directions.

Reading: Three Task Types Instead of Two Long Passages

• ·Complete the Words — a short academic paragraph in which some words are missing their final letters. You type the missing letters. It tests vocabulary and grammar in context rather than comprehension questions.
• ·Read in Daily Life — short everyday texts such as an email, a notice or a schedule, followed by a few multiple-choice questions.
• ·Read an Academic Passage — an academic text much shorter than the old 700-word passages, followed by multiple-choice questions.

Listening: Short Exchanges Alongside Academic Talks

• ·Listen and Choose a Response — you hear one short statement or question and choose the most appropriate reply.
• ·Listen to a Conversation — a short campus or everyday dialogue with questions.
• ·Listen to an Announcement — a brief spoken announcement of the kind you would hear on a campus.
• ·Listen to an Academic Talk — a short lecture-style talk with questions.

Writing: The Integrated Essay Is No Longer Listed

• ·Build a Sentence — you arrange given words into a grammatically correct sentence.
• ·Write an Email — you write a short email responding to an everyday or campus situation.
• ·Write for an Academic Discussion — you read a professor's question and classmates' posts, then add your own contribution. This task carries over from the 2023 format.

The Integrated Writing task — read a passage, listen to a lecture, then write an essay comparing them — does not appear in ETS's current list of Writing tasks.

Speaking: 11 Short Tasks, No Prep Time

Speaking is now two task types back to back: Listen and Repeat (7 prompts) and Take an Interview (4 questions), about 8 minutes in total and with no preparation time. The four-task Independent/Integrated format is retired.

Scoring

Each section is reported on a 1–6 scale, and your overall score is the average of the four section scores rounded to the nearest half band — not the sum of 0–30 section scores as before. For two years after January 2026, score reports also show a comparable overall score on the 0–120 scale.

What Was Retired

• ·The two-passage, 20-question, 36-minute Reading section.
• ·The four-task Speaking section with 15–30 seconds of preparation time.
• ·The Integrated Writing essay as a listed Writing task.
• ·The 0–120 total as the headline score (it remains on reports only as a comparison during the transition).

A Note on Our Own Mock Exams

We are not affiliated with ETS. An earlier version of this article said that only Speaking and the score scale changed in 2026 — that was wrong, and this version corrects it. Our mock exams have since been rebuilt around the 2026 task types and ETS's published section totals. They are not adaptive, and the questions are written by us, so treat your result as an estimate.