How the four skill scores become an overall band, and why a 6.5 can be closer to a 7.0 than it looks.
The four skills
You receive a band from 0 to 9, in half-band steps, for Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking.
Overall band rounding
The overall band is the average of the four skill bands, rounded to the nearest half band:
- An average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band.
- An average ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band.
- Anything below .25 rounds down.
For example, 6.5 + 6.5 + 6.0 + 7.0 averages 6.5 exactly. Adding half a band in Writing (6.5) gives an average of 6.625, which rounds to 6.5 — no visible gain. Adding a full band gives 6.75, which rounds to 7.0.
Why this matters for study planning
Because of rounding, effort is not evenly rewarded. The efficient move is usually to raise the single lowest skill by a full band rather than to raise two skills by half a band each.
Institutional minimums
Many universities and immigration routes set a per-skill minimum as well as an overall band. An overall 7.0 with a 6.0 in Writing will be rejected where the requirement is "7.0 overall, no band below 6.5". Check the per-skill requirement before setting your target.
Setting your target
Take the free diagnostic for a per-skill baseline, then use The mock test cycle to track movement against it.