When establishing the IELTS scores required for entry to your organisation, consider:
- your organisation’s English proficiency expectations
- the preferred skill sets of applicants
- the standard of language skills required (e.g. for presenting, researching, teaching etc.).
These considerations will help you set your overall IELTS band score, as well as individual scores for each section: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking.
Guidelines for educational institutions
The table below outlines the required IELTS band scores for different courses.
Remember that many factors may affect students’ performance, with language ability being just one of these factors.
| Band Score | Linguistically demanding academic courses | Linguistically less demanding academic courses | Linguistically demanding training courses | Linguistically less demanding training courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.5-9 | Acceptable | Acceptable | Acceptable | Acceptable |
| 7.0 | Probably acceptable | Acceptable | Acceptable | Acceptable |
| 6.5 | English study needed | Probably acceptable | Acceptable | Acceptable |
| 6.0 | English study needed | English study needed | Probably acceptable | Acceptable |
| 5.5 | English study needed | English study needed | English study needed | Probably acceptable |
IELTS Scores Guide
Whether you’re a teacher, employer or course designer, the IELTS Scores Guide is a handy tool that helps you to understand how IELTS scores reflect language ability.
The Scores Guide includes:
- videos of spoken presentations at varying points on the banding scale, with comments from examiners
- sample writing tasks supplied by test takers at various points on the 9-band scale, with comments from examiners
- questions and answer samples from Listening and Reading tests
- a supporting booklet, including a summary of the test format and IELTS assessment criteria
- surveys to assist you when setting your score requirements
- advice on setting up a score-setting committee.