2026 TOEFL iBT New Format and Preparation
TOEFL iBT underwent a major overhaul starting January 21, 2026. The new format is shorter (about 90 minutes of testing; ETS advises allowing about two hours in total), 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. 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.

