Big Drop in Speaking Score

by RAJESH
(DEHRADUN)

Hi,

In March 2016 I gave IELTS academic module and got

L: 6.5
R: 6
W: 5
S: 6.5

In Aug 2016 I retook IELTS and got

L: 6
R: 6
W: 6
S: 4.5

In Aug test I expected 6.5 or 7 band in speaking but when i got the result I was totally disappointed.

I gave my best in speaking and was confident to get 7 but never imagined for 4.5.

Should I go for revaluation of my speaking module?

Please suggest.

Comments for Big Drop in Speaking Score

Average Rating

Click here to add your own comments

Sep 07, 2016
Rating

Drop in Speaking Score
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Rajesh,

Your situation is one where you certainly should seriously consider a remark.

There is a very big difference in the speaking ability of someone who is 4.5 and someone 6.5.

Sometimes scores can vary, even by a band or more if someone performs better one time than another. You may find the questions easier or feel more relaxed for some reason at one test than another. Did you feel you did much better in the first test than the second for some reason?

But if you are very confident that that situation does not apply to you, it is very unlikely you could drop two bands over that time so something may have gone wrong.

There's no way to predict though how a remark could go so it's really up to you.

As I said, a possible scenario is you performed much better the first time but maybe it was graded a bit high, and this time you performed less well but it was also under-marked. So maybe you are at the 5.5 level.

You also need to think about what band you need. Is it 6? Usually if bands do get increased it's just around half a band so you may not go up to a 6 (though anything is possible).

But it's all just speculation. If you are confident that is is higher e.g. you have had a teacher who knows you are better than that, maybe you should consider it, but it's really up to you.

Good luck

Sep 07, 2016
Rating

speaking
by: deepu

Tomorrow will be my exam of speaking hope I will get good bands plzz pray for me

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Practicalities of the IELTS Test Forum.

Speaking score dropped by one band

by Manvir
(India)

Hi

I have given IELTS twice, in first attempt my score was:

L-8.5
R-7.5
W-6
S-7.5

I needed 8 in listening & 7 each in rest three, so I gave the exam again & my score was:

L-8.5
R-8.5
W-7
S-6.5

My speaking exam went quite well & there was hardly 2 months of gap between both the tests. How did I lose 1 complete band in speaking, I just can not understand.

I want to go for re-evaluation of my speaking module.

Please advise, it will be really useful.

Manvir Singh

Comments for Speaking score dropped by one band

Average Rating

Click here to add your own comments

Aug 06, 2016
Rating

IELTS Speaking Score Change
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Manvir,

There is a quite a difference between a 6.5 and 7.5, and as you say it is odd for someone's speaking to drop by a band in a few months.

However, it is possible if you did perform much better the first time. Are you sure you did as well the second time as the first?

A candidate can do much better at one time in the exam than another time if for example they feel more relaxed with the examiner they have and they find the questions easier. This can make a big difference.

It is common to hear people come out of the test one time and think it went great but another time it went badly. So this can account for variations and fluctuations in IELTS band scores.

I see that your writing was 6.5 the first time, then you got 7. It can be difficult to get from 6.5 to 7, so it would be a shame if you took the test again but then found you could not get up to 7 on your writing.

So it may be worth considering a remark but it is a gamble and nobody can say if your score will change or not. Could it be that your score was too high the first time?

So you really need to think about how confident you are that you did better than 6.5, and then decide yourself whether you want to risk it or take the test again.

Good luck

Aug 06, 2016
Rating

Thanks
by: Manvir

Thanks for advice. However, I would like to correct you about my writing score, it was 6 before and not 6.5.

I completely understand that scoring 7 in writing is difficult but I will certainly give the exam again.

Beside, I have already filled the re-evaluation. I hope this may be more fruitful.

Aug 06, 2016
Rating

IELTS validity period or range
by: gafar

how long does it take the result before it gets useless?

Aug 06, 2016
Rating

Validity of result
by: Anonymous

2 years...

Aug 07, 2016
Rating

Re-evaluation
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Manvir,

Yes I see it was 6, my mistake. Please post back when you get the re-evaluation mark. It will be interesting to see if the speaking score changes.

Thanks

Aug 09, 2016
Rating

IELTS EXAM NOT A STANDARDISED TEST
by: Anonymous

I took IELTS exam in July 2015, and scored

L:7.5
R:7.5
W:6.5
S:8.0

To raise my writing score to Band 7, I took this test again in Jan 2016 and scored the following.

L:7
R:8.0
W:7.0
S:6.5

Could never understand why speaking score was dropped by 1.5 Band. Personally, I don't think if there are two examiners in IELTS who grade speaking and writing sections. Such a huge variation in IELTS score clealry shows weaknesses and variations in IELTS exams.

Aug 10, 2016
Rating

IELTS EXAM NOT A STANDARDISED TEST
by: IELTS buddy

That is a big drop and there is a big difference between someone who is 8 and someone who is 6.5.

However, consider the things that I said to Manvir - are there any reasons why you may have performed much better in the first test than the second?

If you are sure you performed the same in both then you may want to reconsider a remark (EOR) but it's up to you - there are no guarantees and it will cost you money to do it.

Aug 10, 2016
Rating

Surprising
by: Anonymous

Did u apply for re-evaluation of speaking module also..
If not, then it is very bizarre.

Aug 10, 2016
Rating

IELTS EXAM NOT A STANDARDISED TEST
by: Anonymous

In fact, I did not apply for the re-evaluation because I could not secure Band 8 in listening.

Based on my personal experience, I would like to mention that speaking and writing sections highly depend on examiners. Both times, I took my IELTS tests in the US. The first time, my examiner was a native speaker, and the second time, unfortunately, a non-native speaker.

Is there someone who could tell me if speaking and writing sections are graded by two examiners, or there is one grader only?

Sep 10, 2016
Rating

IELTS EXAM NOT A STANDARDISED TEST
by: Arnold

Same thing happened to me. I took ielts last May 2015 and the result was:

L-8
R-7
W-6.5
S-8.5

I tried to sit another IELTS exam 2 months after, July 2015, in the hopes of reaching at least band 7 in writing. And this was the result.

L-8.5
R-7
W-7
S-6

I got what I aimed for but I was disappointed with my speaking result. Even when I had it remarked, my speaking result remained the same.

But I thanked God because IELTS buddy is here to help. The most effective tool/reviewer there is on the planet!

I took another IELTS in July 2016 and I got 7.5 in listening and the rest were all 7.

Thank you ielts buddy!!

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Practicalities of the IELTS Test Forum.