TOEFL 2019 Format Changes:

Length, Timing, Scoring, and Preparation

1. Old TOEFL vs. New TOEFL

Section OLD TOEFL NEW TOEFL

- 3-4 Passages (Standard length - 3-4 passages (standard length

of 3 passages) of 3 passages)

- 12-14 questions per passage - 10 questions per passage

TOEFL Reading
- 60-80 minutes (standard time - 53-72 minutes (standard
of 60 minutes) time of 54 minutes)

- Average of 1 min. 40 sec. per - Averages of 1 min. 48 sec.

question per question
- 3-4 lectures, 6 questions
- 40-6 lectures, 6 question each each (standard length of 3
(standard length of 4 lectures) lectures)

- 2-3 conversations, 5 questions - 2-3 conversations, 5

each (standard length of 3 questions each (standard
conversations) length of 2 conversations)
TOEFL Listening
- 60-90 minutes (standard time - 41-57 minutes (standard
of 60 minutes) time of 41 minutes)

- Average of 35 sec per question - Average of 35 sec per

(excluding time spent listening question (excluding time
to audio tracks) spent listening to audio
tracks)

6 tasks 4 tasks
- 2 TOEFL Independent - 1 TOEFL Independent
Speaking tasks speaking task
TOEFL Speaking
- 4 TOEFL Integrated speaking - 3 TOEFL Integrated
tasks speaking tasks

- 20 minutes - 17 minutes
- 2 tasks - 2 tasks
Writing Speaking
- 50 minutes of response time - 50 minutes of response time

Whole test 3.5 hours 3 hours

https://magoosh.com/toefl/2019/toefl-2019-format-changes-length-timing-scoring-and-preparation/
2. TOEFL iBT Score System (before Revised)
A. Raw Scores
The TOEFL has four sections: Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. For
each of those sections, you get a score from 0-30, which means your total TOEFL
score will be from 0-120. You’ll receive one or more points, depending on the type of
question, for each question you answer correctly. On the TOEFL, there is no penalty
for choosing a wrong answer.
The total number of questions you answer correctly on each section of the
TOEFL is what test makers call a “raw” score. If a TOEFL Listening section has
34 questions and you get 31 of them correct, your raw score for that section would be
a 31 (assuming all questions are worth 1 point, which we discuss more in the next
section). However, you won’t see a 31 on your TOEFL score report, instead, you’ll see
a scaled score between 0 and 30.

B. Score Rules
1) Reading Section
All Reading questions are multiple choice, and each question will be worth 1-3
points. The majority of Reading questions are single-answer multiple-choice
questions where you are given four answer choices and only one is correct. Each
of these questions is worth one point. At the end of most passage question sets is a
question type known as “Reading to Learn.” For these questions, you’ll be asked
to organize the main points of the passage in either a chart or a summary. Unlike
other Reading questions, Reading to Learn questions are worth 2-3 points. The
number of points the question is worth will be stated beneath the question, and
partial credit is possible.

To calculate your Reading raw score, simply give yourself one point for every
multiple choice question you answered correctly (and potentially 2-3 points for
every Reading to Learn question). The sum of these points is your raw score

2) Listening Section
Like Reading, all Listening questions are multiple choice, and most will have one
correct answer. However, there will also be some questions with two correct
answers and questions where you need to organize events or facts. Unlike Reading,
each of these questions will only be worth one point, so there are no Listening
questions worth multiple points.

To calculate your raw Listening score, give yourself one point for each question
you answered correctly. The sum is your raw score.
3) Speaking Section
Speaking is probably the trickiest section to grade. If you can, record your answers.
This will make it easier to grade yourself because you’ll have a record of what you
said and won’t need to rely on your memory. There are six Speaking tasks, and for
each you’ll receive a raw score of 0-4 (whole points only). The best way to estimate
your raw score for this section is to use the TOEFL’s scoring rubric for the
Speaking section. We have a simplified version of the rubric below which makes
it quicker and easier to grade your answers, but you can also use the official TOEFL
Speaking rubrics. It can be helpful to have a friend or tutor who has strong English
skills grade your Speaking tasks in order to get a more objective and accurate view.

For each Speaking task, go over the rubric carefully and decide which score
best represents your response. Add those four scores together for your raw
Speaking score.

4) Writing Section
There are two Writing tasks, the Independent Writing Task and the Integrated
Writing Task. Each is given a score from 0-5 (whole points only). Like Speaking,
for Writing you’ll need to grade your own responses against the TOEFL rubric, but
this section is often easier since you’ll have your essays right there to look over as
you’re grading yourself. You can have another person grade you, and you can also
review sample essays ( like from the resources we mentioned in the first section of
this guide) and their scores to get a better idea of what graders look for.

Below is a simplified rubric for grading your essays, or you can use the official
TOEFL Writing rubrics. Add both essay scores together to get your raw
Writing score.
3. Calculate Scaled Scores for Each TOEFL Section
the TOEFL score table will vary slightly for each test, so this isn’t an exact conversion,
but it’ll get you a good estimate of what your score would be on the real exam.

Scaled Score Reading Listening Speaking Writing

30 45, 44 34 24 10
29 43, 42, 41 33 23 —
28 40, 39 — 22 9
27 38, 37 32 — —
26 36 31 21 —
25 35, 34 30 20 8
24 33 29 19 —
23 32 — 18 —
22 31 28 17 7
21 30 — — —
20 29 27 16 6
19 28 26 15 —
18 27 25 14 —
17 26 24 13 5
16 25 23 12 —
15 24 22 — —
14 23 21 11 4
13 22 20 — —
12 — 19 10 3
11 21 — 9 —
10 20 18 8 —
9 19 17 — —
8 18 16 7 2
7 17 15 — —
6 — 14 6 —
5 16 13 5 1
4 15 12 4 —
3 14 11 3 —
2 13, 12 10 — —
1 11, 10 9 2 —
0 9 and below 8 and below 1, 0 0