To understand what a good IELTS band score is, you need to first know how the score calculation is done. The International English Language Testing System uses a scale from 1 to 9 to determine scores.
There is no such thing as passing or failing it because it evaluates a candidate's language proficiency. However, each band score represents a skill level.
9-Expert, 8-Very Good, 7-Good, 6-Competent user, 5-Modest user, 4-Limited user, 3-Extremely limited user, 2-Intermittent, 1-Non-user, 0-Did not attempt the test
Band and Skill Level
One cannot outlook the fact that IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training require different band scores for different purposes.
Different needs
A good band score differs between universities and between nations. For example, the average score form the top universities in Australia and Canada is 6.5but for Ivy League colleges in the USA, it is 7 or 8 and above.
IELTS Academic
For immigration and employment, a lower score is generally required. For instance, 4.5 are the required score in Australia. A score of 5.0 is required to be granted a work visa in New Zealand.