TOEFL 2026 Changes Explained: Sections, Scores, and Strategies

In January 2026, the TOEFL iBT will undergo its most significant transformation in years, with a new format, scoring system, and task types across all sections. From a shorter test time and adaptive reading and listening to fresh writing and speaking challenges, ETS’s updated design represents more than just a visual refresh. This guide offers a clear, section-by-section look at the changes and their impact on the test as a whole.

If you’re a repeat Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT) test taker, you no doubt will have noticed a remarkable change in the past year, as the test’s familiar teal and orange color scheme has come to be replaced by a fresh periwinkle and white layout. The press release from last May indicated that the color choice highlights the brand’s “innovativeness and dependability.”

At the time, there was no way of knowing that the rebranding effort was a signal of major changes coming to the TOEFL’s contents. Indeed, even after ETS’s announcement of changes coming in January of 2026, it was hard to imagine the degree to which the updated TOEFL looks like a totally different test. Let’s take a look at some of the major changes coming to the updated TOEFL, followed by a section-by-section breakdown of the updated test.

Headline Changes

Besides the change in colors, the most obvious change to test takers will be the shorter duration of two hours and the more quickly available results. The Reading and Listening sections of the test will now adapt to fit the level of a test taker based on their performance on the first half of each section, so they can be completed in less time. In addition, the speaking section will take roughly half the amount of time because of the different speaking tasks on the new test. Results will become available 72 hours after the completion of the test.

The next big change is the new scoring system. Starting from January, participants will receive a score on the familiar 120 point scale, as well as a score on a six point scale, with half point intervals. From 2028, only the six point scale will be used.

Finally, test security will be overhauled, with test monitoring being automated. Issues identified by the computer system will be reviewed by human proctors. Hopefully, this will alleviate past problems with test center security as well as frustrations caused by the live proctoring system currently in place.

The Reading Section

Complete the Words, commonly called C-Test, is a new task that requires test takers to fill in the second half of every second word (for a total of 10) in a sentence in the middle of a paragraph-length (70-100 word) academic text. This type of task has been gaining popularity as a way of assessing overall language ability, because completing it requires knowledge of grammar, word formation and context.

This is what such a task can look like:

Both these sciences have contributed to our knowledge of the relationship of living things, particularly with respect to their influence upon each other in relation to health and disease. It is now kn_ _ _, for inst_ _ _ _ , that mosq _ _ _ _ _ _ a_ _ pests, n_ _ only be _ _ _ _ _ of th_ _ _ bites, b_ _ because th_ _ at ti_ _ _ transmit malaria, dengue, filariasis, and yellow fever. So, too, it is known that rodents are the enemies of man, not only because of the toll exacted from him, but because they are the principal agents in the propagation and spread of bubonic plague.

How did you do? (text source: The Rat and its Relation to Public Health)

The next task, Read in Daily Life is also new to TOEFL, although anyone who has taken TOEIC will recognize the samples released earlier this summer by ETS. This task requires test takers to demonstrate understanding of text types that are seen by university students in their everyday lives, such as flyers, e-mails, text messages, or announcements.

Finally, the Read an Academic Passage section will still be present, but with shorter passages. On the current iBT, participants can expect three 700-word passages, with around 28 questions in total. On the sample tests released by ETS, it looks like they will be answering five questions based on one academic text of around 200 words in length. The question types appear to be the same as on the current TOEFL iBT.

The Listening Section

Listen and Choose a Response is the first section of the new Listening section, tasks participants with completing short dialogues between speakers. They’ll hear a short question or statement, and have to choose the most appropriate response from four options. This sounds simple, but based on the samples that have been released, it looks like this section focuses heavily on EQ, because the correct answers usually don’t match up with the question in an obvious way.

For example, you might hear something like: “How can I reach you?” and your answer choices could be as follows:

A) No thanks, I don’t need one.
B) Sure, you can do that tomorrow.
C) My number is on the card.
D) It’s too high up for me.

In the next two sections, Listen to a Conversation, and Listen to an Announcement, test takers will listen to short audio clips in modern academic settings based on topics relevant to daily life, and answer two questions that test their comprehension on various levels. For the former, it looks like there will be a total of two short conversations between two speakers, with two questions each. Next, there will be one announcement with two questions. Both sections assess understanding of the context, content and purpose of the listening passage.

Like in the Reading Section, the final task in the Listening Section will be familiar to those who have taken the TOEFL iBT. Listen to an Academic Talk is similar to the Lectures on the current test, but, like in the Reading section, it appears that there will be only one shorter (100-250 word) passage, followed by four questions. The question types appear similar to those on the current TOEFL iBT.

The Writing Section

First of all, the position of the Writing and Speaking section appears to have switched on the new TOEFL. I wonder what this could mean for test takers.

The first task in the new Writing Section is Build a Sentence. For English learners in Japan, this will be a nostalgic task type because it resembles the sentence scramble task found on EIKEN Grades 4 and 5. For this task, examinees will rearrange a set of words to make a sentence that responds to a complete given sentence, often a question. It looks like there will be ten of these on the test.

The next task, Write an Email, might sound like something from EIKEN or TOEIC, but I think this one is deceptively simple. For this task, participants will have seven minutes to write an email based on a given context and communicative purpose. Unlike other tests, where test takers are often asked to respond to an email, it looks like they will be initiating communication by email on the updated TOEFL.

Write for an Academic Discussion, a recent addition to the test, is the only section on the TOEFL that remains completely unchanged. For this section, test takers must contribute to a simulated online discussion by reading a prompt from a professor and two comments from classmates before adding their own thoughts on the topic. This sort of task is very realistic, as most university courses require student participation in online discussions these days.

The Speaking Section

The Speaking section is totally different from the current test. The first section, Listen and Repeat, requires participants to listen to a short introduction to a situation in everyday life in a campus or academic setting, then repeat each sentence that they hear. The sentences get longer and more complex as they go on, and test takers will have only a short time to repeat the sentence, so this part could be surprisingly difficult for some people.

The next task, Take an Interview, is also new to TOEFL. Participants will have to respond to four questions on a given topic, with 45 seconds for each question. The first few questions will be related to factual information and personal experience, and later questions will require test takers to share their opinion on broader issues connected to the topic. The materials released by ETS don’t mention preparation time, so being able to think on your feet will be extremely valuable for this section!

Final Thoughts

It really seems like beyond the choice of color, this is a very different TOEFL. From my perspective, the new scoring system will make it easier to meaningfully communicate achievement on the test. Score users will likely see it my way when we are talking about a Band 4 instead of somewhere between 72 and 85 overall with different score ranges for each section.

ETS, the company that provides TOEFL and TOEIC, has faced challenges in recent years with regards to test center security and the implementation of its Home Edition testing option. Test takers have reported inconveniences related to score cancellation without recourse and poor communication from live test proctors.

It remains to be seen if automated proctoring will improve the test taking experience at home and in test centers, though the overall reduction in time taken certainly will. Both of these factors seem like they should reduce costs for ETS, but they have not, at the time of writing, announced a change in price for the new TOEFL.

If you’re planning to take the TOEFL and have been preparing for the current version, I suggest that you take it before the changes come into effect on January 21. The current TOEFL is very different from the updated test, meaning that you’ll have to prepare for an almost totally new test. Also, the release of the updated test won’t affect the validity of your score.

If your plan is to take the test at a later date, though, your preparation should reflect the changes in the updated TOEFL. At this point in time, you should work on general English language skills, as your test is still months away. Also, make sure to stay tuned to this space; I’ll be preparing study tips for each task on the updated test just in time for you to prepare before the changes come into effect in January.