Glossary
Overall band score
Also written as overall band
The average of your four section scores, rounded to the nearest half band. An average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band, and one ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band.
The rounding only ever moves upwards, which is why a fraction of a mark in one section can be worth half a band overall. An average of 6.25 is reported as 6.5, and an average of 6.75 is reported as 7.0.
Checked against ielts.org on 8 September 2026.