TOEFL iBT Format Changes 2026: What to Prepare For Now
Direct answer: do not prepare for the 2024 shorter-test Reading format. ETS updated TOEFL iBT in January 2026: Reading now includes Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life, and Read an Academic Passage, with about 50 items and a 30-minute base time. The experience is adaptive, so time and item counts may vary.
Check the official ETS content and structure page for the live task list and the official score guidance for the 1–6 reporting scale and comparable 0–120 transition score.
What changed and what did not
Many students still search for the “2024 TOEFL Reading section” because the shorter TOEFL format became a major talking point in 2023 and 2024. But as of June 9, 2026, the practical answer is simpler: prepare for the current ETS Reading structure, not the older multi-passage format that many blogs still describe. The section is shorter, but it still rewards academic reading control, evidence tracking, and efficient pacing.
How to think about the 35 minutes
A good working target is roughly 17 minutes per passage with 1 minute left for review. That does not mean reading each passage in exactly the same way. Stronger readers often spend more time on the passage and less on the questions. Slower readers usually need faster passage mapping and stricter question pacing. The real mistake is spending 22 minutes on passage one and leaving yourself rushed on passage two.
What ETS-style Reading is really testing
The section is not just checking whether you know English words. It is testing whether you can track main ideas, author purpose, evidence relationships, vocabulary in context, and paragraph logic under time pressure. That is why students who “understand the passage” can still underperform if they do not know how TOEFL questions are built.
Who should use this page
This page is for test-takers who searched something like “ETS TOEFL iBT Reading section 2 passages 20 questions 35 minutes official” and want a direct confirmation. If that is your immediate question, the answer is yes. If your next question is how the Reading tasks are actually written, move next to the question-types guide below.
Best internal path
Read the TOEFL Reading question types guide if you want the task-by-task breakdown, use the TOEFL iBT AI study coach for targeted Reading help, and test your baseline with the current TOEFL scoring and format.
FAQ
Is the current TOEFL Reading section still 2 passages?
Yes. ETS’s current TOEFL materials describe the Reading section around 2 passages, 20 questions, and 35 minutes.
Why do so many sites still describe a different TOEFL Reading format?
Because older prep content lingers in search results. Many pages were written before the shorter-format shift and were never properly updated.
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