“Is 91 a bad TOEFL score?” an international student asked at http://quora.com. Officially, Educational Testing Service does not set a passing score. Instead, universities set their specific overall score and subtotals scores. Therefore, there are no bad or good scores. Instead, the question is, “What can I do with my TOEFL score?” Generally speaking, there are some general guidelines that universities sometimes follow for admission into undergraduate, graduate, and issuing for professional licenses.
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Is 91 a bad TOEFL score? 60/120 is minimum requirement for undergraduate study
The minimum requirement for many schools is 60/120. To reach this score, you need to average 15/30 points in the reading, listening, speaking, and writing sections.
Is 91 a bad TOEFL score? 80/120 is minimum requirement for graduate study
The minimum requirement for graduate study at many universities is 80/120. Averaging 20/30 points in the reading, listening, speaking, and writing sections will get this score.
Is 91 a bad TOEFL score? 93/120 is minimum requirement for some professional licenses to work in the United States
In the healthcare industry, reaching a score of 93/100 will clear many credentials for seeking professional licenses such as physical therapy, pharmacy, nursing, and dentistry. What makes this score more challenging is the required subtotal scores of reading 22/30, listening 21/30, speaking 26/30, and writing 24/30 points. Particularly difficult are the speaking and writing subtotal requirements. To illustrate, only 10% of all TOEFL test-takers score 26/30 on the speaking section. In addition, only 20% of test-takers score 24 on the writing section. Learn more about TOEFL score percentages.
Is 91 a bad TOEFL score? TOEFL reading competencies
60/120 or 15/30 points: Students scoring in this range may or may not be able to perform the following competencies.
80/120 or 20/30 points: Students receiving this subtotal score are likely to be able to perform these competencies well.
93/120 or 22/30 points: If students score 22/30 points, they are likely to perform well in these competency descriptors.
Is 91 a bad TOEFL score? TOEFL listening competencies
60/120 or 15/30 points: Students scoring in this range may or may not be able to perform the following competencies.
80/120 or 20/30 points: Students receiving this subtotal score are likely to be able to perform these competencies well.
93/120 or 21/30 points: If students score 22/30 points, they are likely to perform well in these competency descriptors.
Is 91 a bad TOEFL score? TOEFL speaking competencies
60/120 or 15/30 points: Students scoring in this range may or may not be able to perform the following competencies.
80/120 or 20/30 points: Students receiving this subtotal score are likely to be able to perform these competencies well.
93/120 or 26/30 points: If students score 26/30 points, they are very likely to perform well in these competency descriptors.
Is 91 a bad TOEFL score? TOEFL writing competencies
60/120 or 15/30 points: Students scoring in this range may or may not be able to perform the following competencies.
80/120 or 20/30 points: Students receiving this subtotal score are likely to be able to perform these competencies well.
93/120 or 24/30 points: If students score 24/30 points, they are likely to perform well in these competency descriptors.
Is 91 a bad TOEFL score?
Now you know what scores of 60, 80, 93 mean. Therefore, a score of 91 is not a bad score. In fact, with this score, it is likely that you can perform many of the reading, listening, speaking, and writing competencies. Nevertheless, universities and professional programs often set their own requirements. As a result, you should check with the admissions at the university to which you want to attend. The school officials will let you know what score you need to achieve.
Good luck!
Michael Buckhoff, mbuckhoff@aol.com