How close are AIEO's practice bands?
IELTS publishes sample answers with the band an examiner gave each one. We mark the same answers with AIEO and compare the two bands. These are the latest results.
Measured on October 14, 2026.
Writing
6 examiner-marked answers, marked 18 times in total
16 of 18 marks were within half a band of the examiner's band.
Average difference from the examiner's band: 0.33
AIEO's bands sat closer to the middle than the examiner's: higher for the weakest answers and lower for the strongest.
| Examiner's band | AIEO's average | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | 4.5 | 3 |
| 5.0 | 5.17 | 3 |
| 5.5 | 5.67 | 6 |
| 6.0 | 5.83 | 3 |
| 7.5 | 6.67 | 3 |
Speaking
12 examiner-marked answers, marked 24 times in total
18 of 24 marks were within half a band of the examiner's band.
Average difference from the examiner's band: 0.60
AIEO's bands sat closer to the middle than the examiner's: higher for the weakest answers and lower for the strongest.
| Examiner's band | AIEO's average | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 5.0 | 5.5 | 4 |
| 6.0 | 6.38 | 4 |
| 6.5 | 6.0 | 2 |
| 7.0 | 6.75 | 4 |
| 7.5 | 6.75 | 2 |
| 8.0 | 7.12 | 4 |
| 8.5 | 8.0 | 2 |
| 9.0 | 7.5 | 2 |
What this shows and what it does not
- IELTS publishes only a few marked answers, so this is a small test. It shows how the marking behaves on real examiner marks, not the score you will get.
- We used these same answers while building the marking, so the results may look better than on answers AIEO has never seen.
- Speaking is measured on the published transcripts, with the examiner's pronunciation band added, so it does not test how well AIEO hears you. After each Speaking session you can read the transcript your feedback was based on.
- Every AIEO band is a practice estimate. Only the IELTS test gives an official result.
The samples we use
Check it with your own work
On a marked essay or a full Speaking mock, you can add the band a teacher gave the same work and see the difference. After your test date, you can add your official result on Home.
Start free