2026 TOEFL iBT New Format and Preparation
TOEFL iBT underwent a major overhaul starting January 21, 2026. The new format is shorter (67-85 minutes), more adaptive, and measures everyday English alongside academic skills. Reading and Listening sections are now adaptive, meaning difficulty adjusts based on your performance.
The biggest change is in Writing: the old Integrated Writing is gone, replaced by Write an Email (7 min), Build a Sentence, and Academic Discussion tasks. Speaking now includes Listen and Repeat plus an Interview format: there is no preparation time, and you must respond in 45 seconds.
Scoring has also changed: each section is scored 1.0-6.0 in 0.5 increments (similar to IELTS). Until 2028, the old 0-120 scale is also reported during the transition. At TestPrep, we prepare students for the new format with fully updated programs.
