Grammatical accuracy in TOEFL speaking refers to your ability to use correct grammar in your speech. In the TOEFL speaking section, you are assessed on your ability to use grammar correctly and appropriately in your responses. This includes using the correct verb tense, using proper subject-verb agreement, using proper
sentence structure, and using the correct forms of pronouns and other parts of speech. A speaker with high grammatical accuracy will be able to use grammar correctly and effectively in their speech, which will help them to communicate their ideas clearly and effectively.
What is Grammatical Accuracy in TOEFL® Speaking?
Grammatical Accuracy (GA) in TOEFL® Speaking is a SpeechRater™ indicator of your language use.
GA is a measure of how correctly you use English language conventions in your responses.
Stronger speakers tend to
- Form grammatically accurate sentences.
- Use appropriate structure in their statements
Your Grammatical Accuracy Score
Your Grammatical Accuracy score is calculated based on how grammatically accurate your statements are. The calculation is based on the comparison of your statements with the responses receiving the maximum score and how well your language model fits a model of expected word sequences.
Grammatical Accuracy is scored out of 100. Your score is indicated by the “You are here” line.

- This response outscored 41% of the test takers in ETS’s database.
- 59% of the responses scored higher in this one dimension.
- This response is consistent with other TOEFL Speaking responses in the 10-17 range.
Tip: Learn more about how to read My Speaking Score charts, including the Impact score and what the coloured bars mean, in our knowledge base.
Why You Should Care
- Those who score 26+ on TOEFL Speaking have an average GA score of 74.71.
- GA is one of the mild predictors of your overall TOEFL speaking score.
- GA correlates well with some other indicators, such as speaking rate and phrase length (when your Grammatical Accuracy score is high, your score on these other indicators is likely to be high).
Increase Your Score
Make sure your statements are grammatically accurate.
On My Speaking Score, remember to check your transcript to see if your statements are grammatically accurate.

Remember, Discourse Coherence is the only measure of your topic development skills, and it has a mild impact on your overall SpeechRater score.
Check out our blog to learn more about how to improve your score in other dimensions!