The TOEIC certifies your level of English, so it plays a significant role in your application for a business school or even a job. It is therefore necessary to assimilate the evaluation criteria in order to put all the chances on your side. You are a student and you have to take the TOEIC soon, what level do you need to get a good score? What is a good score? Zoom in on this test!
TOEIC score: information to remember
The TOEIC score is calculated on a total of 990 points. In reality, it is divided into two distinct parts of 495 points, “Listening” and “Reading”. The score obtained therefore attests to your level of English at a specific moment. In reality, there is no good or bad score, it just reflects your level of mastery of the language. 400, 500, 750, 900 points, this may seem vague, from what score can we say that we have a good level of English? What score do you need to get into the biggest schools? Don’t panic, we’ll explain everything to you!
The level of requirements of the TOEIC test
The TOEIC exam takes two hours and consists of two parts. A 45-minute oral comprehension part as well as a 1h15 written comprehension part. Thus, the aim of “Listening” is to assess your understanding of the language through descriptions, questions and discussions. You will have to answer 100 questions. Then comes the “Reading” which also has 100 questions and aims to evaluate your grammar, your conjugation, your vocabulary, etc.
In reality, the TOEIC is not the most complicated English test available, but it is certainly the best known. However, it remains necessary to prepare well in order to assimilate all the mechanisms of this exam.
How is the TOEIC score calculated?
The TOEIC is evaluated on a total of 990 points. As seen above, it is separated into two parts, “Listening” and “Reading”, both rated out of 495 points. The score of your two parts is therefore added to give you your final mark. Each part of the exam is broken down into 100 questions. Once you have taken the exam, the score obtained is scaled according to your number of correct answers.
Note that a wrong answer does not lose any points. It is therefore important to ensure that you answer all the questions on the exam correctly.
TOEIC score & CEFR level
The CEFR level or Common European Framework of Reference for Languages is used to compare the results of different language tests on a common scale. Thus, each level corresponds to comprehension and expression skills. You have obviously already heard of these levels, they are the famous A1, B2, C1, etc. Thanks to these, you can easily determine your level of mastery of a language.
Using the table below, you can easily convert your TOEIC score into CEFR level
| CEFR level | TOEIC score | English level |
| A1 | 120 points | Beginner |
| A2 | 225 points | Intermediate |
| B1 | 550 points | Independent |
| B2 | 785 points | Advance |
| C1 | 945 points | Autonomous |
| C2 | 990 points | Mastery |
TOEIC level: what do business schools ask for?
You will have understood, the TOEIC is not a competition, so there is no eliminatory score. However, some schools impose a minimum score. This is the case of HEC which requires a minimum of 815 points or even of Centrale Supelec (750 points). A score of 940 or more will be a real added value to your file.
Here is a list of scores requested by business and engineering schools:
| Schools | Required Scores |
| HEC | 850 |
| ESSEC | 850 |
| EDHEC | 815 |
| ESCP | 815 |
| EM Lyon | 850 |
| EM Strasbourg | 780 |
| SKEMA | 810 |
| Toulouse BS | 720 |
| ESC Toulouse | 800 |
| Audencia | 900 |
| INP Bordeaux | 800 |
| ENSTA Brittany | 800 |
| ENSTA Paris | 850 |
| ESPCI Paris | 800 |
| ESILV | 785 |
| Polytechnic | 890 |
| Supelec power plant | 750 |
| INSA Lyon | 785 |
| ISA SUPAERO | 785 |
| Polytech Marseille | 785 |
| EPF Paris | 815 |
How to get 850 points on the TOEIC?
850 points is often the threshold to cross to join training or demonstrate your mastery of the language. This milestone is therefore regularly used as an objective for candidates taking this test. To achieve this, it is possible to perform well in one of the two parts or, conversely, to succeed in obtaining 85 correct answers out of 100 in both sections of the exam.
TOEIC score: equivalence with other English tests
Although the TOEIC is the most well-known test, there are many others. TOEFL or IELTS are also exams that aim to test your level of English proficiency. However, each exam has its own specificities and does not necessarily assess the same abilities. For example, the TOEIC is an exam that is focused on the professional world while the TOEFL is more intended for students.
Below is the TOEIC equivalence table:
| Level | TOEIC score | TOEFL score | IELTS score |
| Beginner | Between 0 and 250 points | Between 0 and 18 points | Between 0 and 1.5 points |
| Elementary | Between 255 and 400 points | Between 19 and 40 points | Between 2 and 3.5 points |
| Intermediate | Between 405 and 600 points | Between 41 and 64 points | Between 4 and 5 points |
| Advanced Intermediate | Between 605 and 780 points | Between 65 and 95 points | Between 5.5 and 7 points |
| Advance | Between 785 and 990 points | Between 96 and 120 points | Between 7.5 and 9 points |
