What is 37 out of 40 in IELTS Listening?
Quick answer
A score of 37 or 38 out of 40 is above the 35 marks IELTS.org lists for Listening band 8, and IELTS.org publishes no point above band 8. The indicative table the site's band calculator uses reads the row as band 8.5. That figure is an estimate, with no official point behind it.
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Part of The IELTS test, answered
Two or three wrong answers is all this row allows, and IELTS.org has no official point to measure it against.
Beyond the published list
IELTS.org’s scoring page lists average Listening marks for bands 5, 6, 7 and 8 as 16, 23, 30 and 35. Nothing is printed above band 8. A score of 37 or 38 is 2 or 3 marks past the last point, and the only honest official statement is that it is higher than the band 8 average.
What the 8.5 rests on
The indicative table behind the site’s band score calculator assigns 8.5 to 37 and 38 marks. It is an estimate, a way of filling the steps IELTS.org leaves blank, and IELTS.org’s sentence about variation still applies: “The precise number of marks needed to achieve these band scores will vary slightly from test version to test version.” Do not read 8.5 as a promise from IELTS. The band’s general description is in what level is IELTS 8.5.
Counting it into the overall
Listening is one of four sections, averaged and rounded to the nearest half band, as IELTS.org states. A Listening of 8.5 moves the average more than any lower section would, but it cannot carry the overall alone. The step beyond this row is 39 marks, which the table reads as 9.0.
Practice
At this level the question is consistency rather than ability: can you repeat the result on other papers? Try the site’s Listening practice test, which is marked in the browser with an indicative band from the same table. Listening is one test whichever version you sit, as how the IELTS Listening score is calculated explains.
Why only the top rows are narrow
The rows at the top of the table are two marks wide, against four or five lower down, so each answer is worth more here. That is a feature of the estimate, and IELTS.org does not publish it.
What this means for your score
A candidate misses just 2 of the 40 questions and has 38 correct. That is 3 above the 35 marks IELTS.org lists for band 8, and IELTS.org gives no figure for anything higher. The indicative row, 37 to 38, reads 8.5. A candidate who also loses a third mark would drop to 37 and still be in the row, but at 36 would read 8.0.
Frequently asked questions
Is 37 out of 40 a good Listening score?
It reads as 8.5 on the indicative table, past the highest point on IELTS.org's list. Whether it is more than you need depends on your target, and few requirements are set this high.
Which table is the official one?
IELTS.org publishes average marks only for Listening bands 5 to 8, at 16, 23, 30 and 35. It gives nothing for 8.5 or 9, and it says the numbers vary slightly between test versions. This row comes from an estimate with half bands.
How many marks for the next band?
The indicative table reads 39 marks as 9.0, which is 1 more than 38 or 2 more than 37. IELTS.org lists no official point for band 9, so no published figure confirms it.
Is Listening the same for Academic and General Training?
Yes. Both versions share one Listening test and one conversion, which the site's Listening score answer explains. Only Reading differs between Academic and General Training.
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