TOEFL MyBest Scores and IELTS One Skill Retake: How Score Combining Works for US Applications

What TOEFL MyBest Scores is

TOEFL MyBest Scores is a feature ETS reports alongside your individual test date scores. It draws your strongest section score for each skill, listening, reading, speaking and writing, from across your test dates within the score's validity window, and adds them into one composite total. Your official score report shows both your single best test date result and your MyBest composite, so a university sees both.

Whether a university uses your MyBest composite or looks only at your best single test date is a decision the school makes, not ETS. Some programs state clearly that they accept MyBest Scores, others ask for one sitting, and some do not mention it on their admissions page at all, which means you need to ask directly rather than assume.

What IELTS One Skill Retake is

IELTS One Skill Retake lets you redo a single section, listening, reading, writing or speaking, instead of sitting the full test again, if you want to improve one score after your original test. IELTS introduced this option for computer-delivered tests in 2023, based on published IELTS background information .

You take the retake within 60 days of your original test date, and it follows the same timing, format and marking as the full test section. IELTS confirms results arrive within 3 to 5 days and you receive a new Test Report Form with the updated section score.

The option currently applies to IELTS Academic and General Training taken by computer, and to select IELTS UKVI locations. It is not available for IELTS Online. Organizations, including universities, have to register with IELTS to accept One Skill Retake results, so a school that has not registered might still ask for a full, single-sitting score report.

Why universities treat these differently

Both options exist to reduce how often you retake an entire test to fix one weak section, but universities do not respond to them the same way. MyBest Scores is a standard part of every TOEFL score report ETS issues, so a university that receives your report sees it automatically, even if the school's own policy is to consider only your single best sitting. One Skill Retake produces a fully separate updated score report, and only counts for admissions if the receiving university has registered to accept it.

This difference matters for your timeline. If you are counting on MyBest Scores to reach a required total, confirm your target program actually uses the composite figure and not only your best single date, since a program that ignores MyBest evaluates you against your single highest test date. If you are counting on a One Skill Retake to fix one section, confirm your school is registered to accept it before you book the retake, since your original full score report still stands if they are not.

Which one fits your situation

MyBest Scores fits you if you already have multiple TOEFL sittings and one of them was strong in a section where your best single date was weak, since the composite lets your genuinely best performance in each skill count together. It does not help if you have taken TOEFL only once.

One Skill Retake fits you if one section pulled your IELTS result down while the other three met your target, and you would rather fix that one section than sit through the full test again. It does not help if multiple sections need improvement, since only one section gets redone.

How to use either option in your application

• Check your target program's testing policy page for the words MyBest or One Skill Retake specifically, not just the general TOEFL or IELTS acceptance statement

• Email the admissions office if the policy is not stated, and get the answer in writing before you register for a retest

• If neither option is accepted at your target school, plan for a full new test sitting instead

• Keep every score report you receive, since some schools ask you to submit all of your test dates, not only your best one