TOEFL practice tests in the 2026 format: what to look for and how to review one

Many students preparing for the TOEFL in 2026 are still using practice tests built for the old format. That's a problem: most of the task types they practise are gone, and the scores don't map neatly to the new scale.

What a 2026-format practice test needs

• Reading: Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life and academic passages, in two adaptive modules.
• Listening: Choose a Response, conversations, announcements and academic talks, in two adaptive modules, each audio played once.
• Writing: Build a Sentence, Write an Email (about 7 minutes) and Academic Discussion (about 10 minutes).
• Speaking: Listen and Repeat and Take an Interview, recorded, with no preparation time.
• Scoring: 1–6 for each section in half points, the overall score as the rounded average, and the CEFR level.

If a practice test still has long integrated essays or a 0–120 total as its main score, it's the old format.

How accurate are practice scores?

ETS doesn't publish the exact formulas behind its section scores, or the cut-off for the harder second module. Every practice provider, including us, uses its own estimate. That means:

• A practice score is a guide, typically within about half a point if the test is well built and you take it under real conditions.
• Changes in your practice scores over time are more reliable than any single score.
• Task-level results (which tasks you lose points on) are the most useful information a practice test gives you.

Take it like the real test

• One sitting, about an hour and a half, no pauses.
• Headphones and a microphone, ideally a headset.
• No dictionary, no replaying audio, no extra time.
• Speak out loud in Speaking, at a normal volume.

How to review a practice test

1. Reading and Listening: did you reach the harder second module? If not, look at your Module 1 mistakes first. They decided your route.
2. List wrong answers by task type: Complete the Words, Daily Life, academic passage, Choose a Response, conversation, talk.
3. Build a Sentence: note the grammar point for each error.
4. Email and discussion: read the feedback and the model answer. Rewrite one paragraph.
5. Speaking: listen to your recordings or read the transcripts. Mark pauses, missing words in Listen and Repeat, and answers under 30 seconds.
6. Choose three things to fix before the next practice test.

How often

Once at the start, then once a week. Practice tests show you what to practise; the improvement comes from the practice in between.

The AIL TOEFL iBT style practice tests

Our practice tests were written by teachers at Australian Institute of Language in Melbourne, in the 2026 format, with adaptive two-stage Reading and Listening. Reading and Listening are scored instantly. Writing is marked by AI on the 0–5 task rubrics, with corrections and model answers. Speaking answers are transcribed and scored, with Listen and Repeat compared word by word against the original sentence. You get 1–6 section scores, an overall score and a CEFR level. They are practice tests, not produced or endorsed by ETS. You can try free practice in each section first.