BAND9AI

How BAND9AI Scores IELTS Speaking Criteria

Speaking rubric · BAND9AI method · May 2026

Direct answer

BAND9AI scores Speaking against the four public IELTS criteria—Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation—each with its own band and quoted evidence from your audio transcript. Unlike generic chat ("sounds good, Band 7"), the system anchors to published band descriptors, flags hesitation patterns, collocation gaps, and structural errors, then averages the four criterion bands using the same rounding rule IELTS publishes.

The four criterion pass

FC Hesitation, self-correction, discourse markers, answer development
LR Topic-specific vocabulary, paraphrase, collocation accuracy
GRA Range of structures, error density, meaning impact
PR Intelligibility, word stress, sentence rhythm—not accent prestige

Scoring method vs generic AI

StepBAND9AIGeneric chat
InputAudio → transcript + timing cuesText paste or vague listen
AnchorPublic band descriptors per criterionImplicit "native-like" feel
Output4 bands + quotes + weakest leakSingle headline band
OverallAverage + 0.5 roundingArbitrary

Known limits (honest calibration)

AI cannot replicate examiner room dynamics—eye contact, cue cards, or accent tolerance in noisy halls. Pair BAND9AI checks with human mocks for Part 3 depth. Read AI speaking evaluation accuracy limits and Claude speaking limits for comparison context.

Key takeaways

  • Four separate criterion bands—not one vague overall guess.
  • Evidence quotes tie feedback to public IELTS descriptors.
  • Overall band = average of four criteria, rounded to 0.5.
  • Validate AI Speaking scores with human mocks before exam day.

FAQ

You submit a full response; the system scores the clip against all four criteria holistically, noting Part 2 length and Part 3 depth where relevant.
AI flags intelligibility, stress, and rhythm patterns—it cannot replicate in-room accent tolerance. See AI speaking evaluation accuracy limits.
IELTS averages the four criterion bands and rounds to the nearest 0.5—same public rule BAND9AI applies to its breakdown.

Related nodes

See your four Speaking criterion bands with quoted evidence.

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