The TOEFL iBT runs 120 items across four sections in under 90 minutes. Reading and Listening adapt to your performance; Speaking and Writing do not. This is the format introduced on January 21, 2026.
Test Ninjas Research · Updated September 11, 2026
The four sections
Sections are delivered in a fixed order and timed independently. Each produces one band from 1.0 to 6.0, and the four are averaged into your overall score.
Note how uneven the raw-point weighting is within sections. Speaking carries 55 raw points from just 11 items, while Writing carries 20 from 12. This does not change the final weighting — every section is still a quarter of your overall band — but individual Speaking responses count heavily within their own section.
How the adaptive sections work
Reading and Listening each begin with a router. Your performance there determines whether the rest of the section is a lower or an upper difficulty module. This is what makes the exam shorter than its predecessor: rather than presenting everyone with the same wide spread of difficulty, it narrows quickly to the range that measures you most efficiently.
Two practical consequences. Early accuracy carries more weight than it does on a linear test. And total test time varies between candidates — the 83-to-89 minute range in the specifications is the routing difference, not an estimate.
How responses are scored
Scoring method by item count
Method
Items
What it covers
Machine scored
108 items
Selected-response formats, scored against predefined logic
AI scored
12 items
11 Speaking responses + 2 written responses
Total
120 items
145 raw points
No break, and no going back
There is no scheduled break in the 2026 format, and the clock does not stop for an unscheduled one — time away from the screen is time off your test. Within a section you work through the items presented to you; once a section ends you cannot return to it. Reading and Listening also contain unscored trial items that look identical to scored ones, so there is nothing to gain from trying to spot them.
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Between 1 hour 23 minutes and 1 hour 29 minutes. It is a range rather than a fixed figure because Reading and Listening are adaptive: the module you are routed to differs in length. There is no scheduled break.
120 items in total, worth 145 raw points: 50 in Reading, 47 in Listening, 11 in Speaking and 12 in Writing. The Reading and Listening counts include unscored trial items.
Reading and Listening. Each uses a two-stage design: a routing stage, then either a lower or an upper difficulty module depending on how you performed. Speaking and Writing are linear — everyone taking a given form receives the same tasks.
No. The 2026 format has no scheduled break at all. At under 90 minutes the exam is short enough that ETS removed it. Unscheduled breaks are monitored and the test clock does not stop for them, so anything you step away for costs you testing time — use the restroom before check-in.
Yes. Reading and Listening include trial items gathering data on item performance for future forms. They are indistinguishable from scored items, so treat every question as if it counts.
Of the 120 items, 108 are machine scored against predefined logic — multiple choice and similar selected-response formats. The remaining 12 are AI scored: the 11 Speaking items and the 2 written responses use natural language processing to assess features like fluency, coherence and grammar.