How to Use This Tool
The IELTS overall band is the average of your four section scores — but it is then rounded to the nearest half band, and that rounding is where almost everyone mis-predicts their result.
The rule
Add the four section scores, divide by four, then round to the nearest 0.5. An average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band, and one ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band. Anything below those points rounds down.
So 6.25 is awarded 6.5, and 6.75 is awarded 7.0. But 6.125 is awarded 6.0, because it does not reach the .25 boundary.
Because section scores move in half steps, the average of four of them always lands on a multiple of 0.125 — so the values you can actually get are 6.0, 6.125, 6.25, 6.375 and so on. Only three of every four possible averages sit safely inside a band; the rest are within one section half-step of moving.
Reading the distance panel
Underneath the result, the tool shows how far your average is from the next boundary, expressed in section half-steps. This is the number that actually matters when deciding whether to retake: if you are 0.125 away, a single half band in any one section moves you up. If you are 0.375 away, you need three half-steps — a much bigger ask.
The four cards show what one extra half band in each individual section would do. Often only some of them change the outcome, which tells you where effort is worth spending.
Two things this does not do
It does not predict your score. It applies the published arithmetic to numbers you supply. If you enter estimates from a practice test, the output is an estimate of an estimate — practice test scores are notoriously optimistic because the conditions are not the same.
It does not know your institution's rules. Many universities set a minimum in each individual section as well as an overall minimum, so an overall 6.5 with a 5.5 in Writing can be rejected where a straight 6.0 across all four would be accepted. Always check the per-section requirement, not just the headline number.
Nothing is stored
The calculation runs in your browser. Nothing is transmitted or saved, which matters more than usual here — test scores are personal, and there is no reason for a calculator to know yours.
