The academic reading examination is slightly harder than the general reading test. Due to this, it takes less correct answers on the academic version to achieve higher scores. The reading test (academic or general) has three or four passages that the examinee must answer questions about. This section also has 40 questions, and the number of correct responses produces a raw score. It takes 60 minutes.
For the academic reading test, it usually takes around 15 correct answers to get a band score of 5, and 23 to get a band score of 6. It will take around 30 to get a band score of 7, and 35 correct answers to get a band score of 8. A raw score of 38 should net the examinee a band score of 9.
The general reading test has different standards. It will usually take 15 correct answers on the general reading test to get a point of 4, and 23 to get a point of 5. It will take around 30 correct answers to get a point of 6, and 34 to get a point of 7. It will take around 37 correct answers to get a point of 8, and 39 to get a point of 9. These different scoring tiers reflect the easier questions present on the general reading IELTS test.