TOEIC Speaking & Writing Level Calculator

Overview

Enter your TOEIC Speaking and Writing scores to see both the ACTFL proficiency level printed on today's score report and the legacy Level label that many Korean job postings still use. Both tests are scored 0-200 and reported only in 10-point increments. Since the June 4, 2022 administration, the Korea TOEIC Committee has reported Speaking results as ACTFL levels (Advanced High down to Novice Low) instead of Level 1-8, and Writing uses the same ACTFL scale. This calculator shows the ACTFL level, the legacy Level, the matching CEFR band (A1-C1), the points to the next level, and how far you are from your target. Add a Writing score and it also gives the combined S&W total, the CEFR level both skills clear, and which skill is lagging.

Formula

TOEIC Speaking - ACTFL level (Korea TOEIC Committee, 0-200 in 10-point steps)
  Advanced High (AH)        : 200
  Advanced Mid (AM)         : 180-190
  Advanced Low (AL)         : 160-170
  Intermediate High (IH)    : 140-150
  Intermediate Mid 3 (IM3)  : 130
  Intermediate Mid 2 (IM2)  : 120
  Intermediate Mid 1 (IM1)  : 110
  Intermediate Low (IL)     : 90-100
  Novice High (NH)          : 60-80
  Novice Mid / Low          : 0-50

TOEIC Writing - ACTFL level (Korea TOEIC Committee / ETS RM-22-01)
  Advanced High (AH)        : 180-200
  Advanced Mid (AM)         : 160-170
  Advanced Low (AL)         : 130-150
  Intermediate High (IH)    : 110-120
  Intermediate Mid (IM)     : 90-100
  Intermediate Low (IL)     : 70-80
  Novice High (NH)          : 50-60
  Novice Mid / Low          : 0-40

Legacy Level labels (ETS Score Descriptor Table)
  Speaking : L8 190-200 / L7 160-180 / L6 130-150 / L5 110-120 / L4 80-100 / L3 60-70 / L2 40-50 / L1 0-30
  Writing  : L9 200 / L8 170-190 / L7 140-160 / L6 110-130 / L5 90-100 / L4 70-80 / L3 50-60 / L2 40 / L1 0-30

CEFR minimum scores (ETS Global TOEIC S&W-CEFR correlation table)
  C1 : Speaking 180 / Writing 180 / total 360
  B2 : Speaking 160 / Writing 150 / total 310
  B1 : Speaking 120 / Writing 120 / total 240
  A2 : Speaking 90 / Writing 70 / total 160
  A1 : Speaking 50 / Writing 30 / total 80

Points to next level = (lower bound of the next level) - current score
Points to target = target score - current score (divide by 10 for the number of 10-point steps)
S&W total = Speaking + Writing (max 400)
CEFR cleared by both skills = highest band whose Speaking and Writing minimums are both met

How to Use

1. 1Enter the TOEIC Speaking score from your score report in 10-point steps (0-200).
2. 2If you also have a Writing score, set 'TOEIC Writing score' to 'yes' and enter it. Choose 'no' if you only took Speaking.
3. 3Pick a target Speaking level (Advanced Low 160, Intermediate High 140, and so on), or choose 'custom' to set your own target score.
4. 4Read off the ACTFL level, the legacy Level label and the CEFR band. If a job posting asks for 'Level 6 or above', compare against the legacy Level row.
5. 5Use 'points to next ACTFL level' and 'points to next Level' to see where the band boundaries sit, and plan around the number of 10-point steps left to your target.

Examples

Background

The TOEIC Speaking and Writing Tests are developed by ETS and administered in Korea by the Korea TOEIC Committee (YBM). They are separate from the listening-and-reading TOEIC scored out of 990. Speaking has 11 tasks in about 20 minutes and Writing has 8 tasks in about 60 minutes; both are scored 0-200 and reported only in 10-point increments. ETS's original Score Descriptor Table split Speaking into Levels 1-8 and Writing into Levels 1-9. Responding to feedback from score users, the Korea TOEIC Committee switched Speaking score reporting to ACTFL proficiency levels from the June 4, 2022 administration, adjusting the number of question prompts in task 10 and the preparation time in task 11 at the same time. The Writing bands come from ETS Research Memorandum RM-22-01 (Mapping TOEIC Writing Test Scores to ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines), whose standard-setting panel produced three candidate solutions; Solution 1, which had the highest classification accuracy and reliability, was adopted, giving cut scores of 50 for Novice High, 70 Intermediate Low, 90 Intermediate Mid, 110 Intermediate High, 130 Advanced Low, 160 Advanced Mid and 180 Advanced High. Only Speaking subdivides Intermediate Mid, reporting 110, 120 and 130 as Mid 1, 2 and 3. The CEFR mapping follows the ETS Global correlation table based on the Tannenbaum and Wylie benchmarking study, and ETS advises against using those minimums as strict cut scores.

Tips

• ✔Scores only come in 10-point steps, so there is no such thing as a 141. Divide the gap to your target by 10 to get the number of steps you need.
• ✔A posting that says 'OPIc IH or TOEIC Speaking Level 6 and above' is using the legacy labels. Legacy Level 6 spans 130-150, which straddles IM3 and IH today, so aim for IH (140) to be safe.
• ✔Advanced Low means different scores in each skill: Speaking AL starts at 160 while Writing AL starts at 130. The same band name sits 30 points lower on the Writing scale.
• ✔Speaking band boundaries cluster at 160 (AL) and 180 (AM). Moving from 150 to 160 is only 10 points but shifts you from Intermediate to Advanced, so a retake is often worth it near that line.
• ✔The ETS B2 minimums are 160 for Speaking and 150 for Writing. Writing is set 10 points lower, so when preparing both skills it usually pays to weight Speaking slightly more.
• ✔TOEIC Speaking and Writing scores are valid for two years from the test date. Required levels and validity windows differ by organisation, so always check the posting before applying.

FAQ