ETS is introducing updates to the TOEFL iBT® test to create a more personalized, accessible, and modern testing experience—while maintaining the academic rigor institutions trust. To learn more about the updates, please see the TOEFL Enhancements collection.
One of the enhancements is an update to the score scale. Effective January 21, 2026, TOEFL iBT® will adopt a 1 – 6 score scale (in 0.5 increments) to better align with global standards and simplify score interpretation.
To make sure your CRM is ready to receive iBT26 scores, we are providing an Integrations Sandbox that contains a test URL, test API key, and dummy data so that you can test your system. After January 21, 2026, you will receive a mix of scores in the current format (1-120 score scale) and the iBT26 score format (1 – 6 score scale). Because this is the case, the dummy data we provide for this test include 11 score sets—score sets 1 – 9 are in the current format (1-120 score scale) and score sets 10 – 11 are in the iBT26 format (1 – 6 score scale). Score sets 10 – 11 are the scores you particularly need to check.
Important: Conduct this check in a test environment not in your production environment.
If you are using SOAP service, you will need to update to REST service. Use this article to update to REST. This test can be used for ScoreLink using TEXT and JSON formats.
Follow these instructions to test if you can view iBT26 scores in your CRM.
In your test environment, replace the TOEFL Access production URL with the following test URL exactly as shown below:
https://toeflaccess-tst-api.ets.org/scores/sample-data?enddate=2025-07-26T23:59:59&reportby=scorelinkbyreportdate&startdate=2024-07-25T00:00:00&type=TOEFL&format=TEXT
Then, Add in the “Headers” section using <authcode> as the key name with the following key value:
dGVzdHVzZXI6aWJ0MjY=
Change response from TEXT to JSON, add in "Params" section using <format> key name the key value you would like to view:
<format> = TEXT (Default)
<format> = JSON
When you call the test API, it will return 11 score sets.
As mentioned, the first 9 score sets will be formatted using the current TOEFL format (1-120 score scale).
Score sets 10 and 11 use the new TOEFL iBT26 format. These are the score sets you need to carefully check to make sure your CRM will function properly after January 21, 2026.
If you have any questions, please email us: help.toeflaccess@ets.org.
The sample data files are attached below: