TOEIC Speaking and Writing Score Guide

A TOEIC speaking score is reported on its own scale from 0 to 200, and it is not a section of the TOEIC Listening and Reading test. That one sentence settles the most common question behind this topic, but it leaves the useful part open: how ETS produces the number, what each band on the official TOEIC speaking score table describes, and what to do when an employer or a school measures you against a target score.

This guide covers both tests of the TOEIC Speaking and Writing pair using the ETS materials read on 27 October 2026: the TOEIC Speaking and Writing test overview, the Examinee Handbook and the TOEIC Speaking and Writing Score Descriptors. Every figure below comes from those documents, and nothing here is a ranking, a personal test result or a forecast of the score you will receive.

What the TOEIC Speaking and Writing Tests Report

The Speaking test contains 11 questions and takes about 20 minutes; the Writing test contains 8 questions and takes about 60 minutes. Each test is reported on a scale of 0 to 200 in increments of 10, and each carries its own proficiency level: eight levels for Speaking, nine for Writing.

The two scores are reported separately, and ETS states that a Speaking score and a Writing score should not be compared with each other. There is no combined total: a TOEIC speaking and writing total score that looks like 785 or 900 was almost certainly a Listening and Reading total, reported out of 990.

Neither test is passed or failed; ETS leaves the standard to the organisations that use the scores, on one continuous scale that lets a learner set an attainable goal and measure progress.

How ETS Turns Your Answers Into a TOEIC Speaking Score

Nothing in these two tests is multiple choice, so nothing is counted right or wrong. Recorded speaking responses and typed writing responses are rated against published criteria, and the ratings are converted into the score you see.

The rating scales differ by task type. On the Speaking test the first four task types are rated on a scale of 0 to 3, and the final task type, expressing an opinion, is rated on a scale of 0 to 5. On the Writing test the five write-a-sentence tasks are rated 0 to 3, the two written requests are rated 0 to 4, and the opinion essay is rated 0 to 5. The sum of the ratings is then converted to a scaled score of 0 to 200.

The criteria grow as the test progresses. Reading a text aloud is rated on pronunciation plus intonation and stress. Describing a picture adds grammar, vocabulary and cohesion. Responding to questions adds relevance and completeness of content, and the same criteria carry through to the questions that come with printed information and to the opinion task. Writing follows the same pattern: a sentence from a picture is rated on grammar and relevance to the picture, a written request on sentence quality, vocabulary and organisation, and the essay on whether the opinion is supported with reasons or examples, plus grammar, vocabulary and organisation.

Speaking responses are recorded digitally and sent to the ETS Online Network for Evaluation, where they are scored by certified ETS raters. Because raters work from a rating scale and the sum of those ratings is then converted, you cannot reconstruct your own scaled score by adding up practice ratings. That is the honest answer to most toeic speaking and writing score conversion questions: the published materials explain the rating scales and the bands, but not a raw-to-scaled formula.

Timing is part of the scoring guide too. The published limits are 45 seconds to prepare and 45 seconds to read a text aloud, 45 seconds to prepare and 30 seconds to speak about a picture, 15 or 30 seconds for the spoken answers to questions, 30 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to give an opinion, 10 minutes for each written email, and 30 minutes for the essay.

The TOEIC Speaking Score Levels

The Speaking test reports eight levels, each covering one band of scaled scores: 0 to 30, 40 to 50, 60 to 70, 80 to 100, 110 to 120, 130 to 150, 160 to 180, and 190 to 200. The bands are not equal in width.

A TOEIC speaking score of 160 sits in the 160 to 180 band, which ETS describes as creating connected, sustained speech appropriate to a workplace, expressing opinions and handling complicated requests effectively, with weaknesses such as minor hesitation or some imprecise vocabulary that do not interfere with the message. The top band, 190 to 200, describes speech that is highly intelligible at all times with good control of basic and complex grammar. Lower bands describe specific limits instead, such as reasons that are unclear to a listener in the 130 to 150 band, or responses that are difficult to understand in the 40 to 50 band.

The official sample score certificate printed in the Examinee Handbook shows a Speaking score of 160 and a Writing score of 180, so the same test taker can sit mid-range on one test and near the top of the other, with no combined figure added on top.

The TOEIC Writing Score Levels

The Writing test reports nine levels across bands of 0 to 30, 40, 50 to 60, 70 to 80, 90 to 100, 110 to 130, 140 to 160, 170 to 190, and 200. Only one band, level 9, is a single score. The maximum on the Writing test is 200, and the maximum band on the Speaking test is 190 to 200.

A TOEIC speaking and writing max score question usually has two answers that people mix up. The maximum scaled score on each test is 200. The maximum for the pair is not reported as 400, because ETS issues no combined figure: you hold two scores, each out of 200, with a level descriptor attached to each one.

What a Target Score for TOEIC Speaking and Writing Really Means

Since there is no pass mark, a target score is an organisation's own line. An employer asking for Speaking 160 is asking for performance in the 160 to 180 band; a school asking for Writing 170 is asking for the 170 to 190 band. Reading the band description is more informative than reading the number alone, because the band tells you which weaknesses are tolerated at that level.

Two practical points follow from the same documents. Scores more than two years old cannot be reported or validated, so a score from an earlier job search may no longer be usable. And if a result looks wrong, a score review can be requested within one month of the test date; a test can be reviewed only once, both sections must be reviewed at the same time, and if the review changes a score, the revised score becomes the official one. Results are normally available about 14 business days after the test.

Reading a Practice Score Before You Book the Test

A mock test can give you a rating, a percentage or an estimated band, but none of those is a TOEIC speaking score, because the conversion sits with ETS. The HiBay membership page describes exam preparation with IELTS and TOEIC mock tests in real exam formats, scored criterion by criterion, and the score it displays is labelled as simulated rather than an official result, which is the right way to read any practice figure. The HiBay app listing describes the practice side of the same product: conversation scenarios at several difficulty levels, listening practice, and a speaking mode where you answer and then receive scores and analysis.

Practice is best spent on the two things it can change: the task type that costs you the most, and whether you can finish inside the time. Record one response of each type and play it back. Practice sentences in the style of the tasks, such as I would like to reserve a table for two at seven o'clock. for reading aloud, The picture shows a group of people waiting beside a departure board. for describing a picture, Could you tell me when the next train to Cambridge leaves? for responding to questions, and In my opinion, remote work saves commuting time, but it also makes it harder to stop thinking about work in the evening. for the opinion task, are enough to expose your own weak spots. These are practice sentences, not test questions, and hearing your own recording is what tells you whether the band description above sounds like you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does TOEIC have a speaking test?

Yes. The TOEIC Speaking test is separate from the TOEIC Listening and Reading test, it contains 11 questions, it takes about 20 minutes, and it is reported on a scale of 0 to 200 with eight proficiency levels. It can be taken on its own or in the same session as the TOEIC Writing test, and the two scores stay separate. If a job advert mentions a TOEIC score out of 990, that figure came from Listening and Reading, so ask which test the requirement refers to before you book anything.

How does ETS score the TOEIC Speaking and Writing test responses?

Responses are recorded or typed, sent to the ETS Online Network for Evaluation, and rated by certified ETS raters against task-specific criteria. The earlier task types on each test are rated on a scale of 0 to 3, the writing requests are rated 0 to 4, and the final task type on each test is rated 0 to 5. The sum of the ratings is then converted to a scaled score of 0 to 200 in increments of 10, and a proficiency level is attached to the score range you land in. Nothing is counted as right or wrong, and the sum of ratings is not the scaled score you receive.