diff --git a/src/query/bm25.rs b/src/query/bm25.rs
index 0bb1b4f08..d4371237c 100644
--- a/src/query/bm25.rs
+++ b/src/query/bm25.rs
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ impl BM25Weight {
         BM25Weight::new(idf_explain, avg_fieldnorm)
     }
 
-    fn new(idf_explain: Explanation, average_fieldnorm: Score) -> BM25Weight {
+    pub(crate) fn new(idf_explain: Explanation, average_fieldnorm: Score) -> BM25Weight {
         let weight = idf_explain.value() * (1.0 + K1);
         BM25Weight {
             idf_explain,
diff --git a/src/query/term_query/term_query.rs b/src/query/term_query/term_query.rs
index 260170dff..9cb0bd457 100644
--- a/src/query/term_query/term_query.rs
+++ b/src/query/term_query/term_query.rs
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 use super::term_weight::TermWeight;
 use crate::query::bm25::BM25Weight;
-use crate::query::Query;
 use crate::query::Weight;
+use crate::query::{Explanation, Query};
 use crate::schema::IndexRecordOption;
 use crate::Searcher;
 use crate::Term;
@@ -100,7 +100,13 @@ impl TermQuery {
                 field_entry.name()
             )));
         }
-        let bm25_weight = BM25Weight::for_terms(searcher, &[term])?;
+        let bm25_weight;
+        if scoring_enabled {
+            bm25_weight = BM25Weight::for_terms(searcher, &[term])?;
+        } else {
+            bm25_weight =
+                BM25Weight::new(Explanation::new("<no score>".to_string(), 1.0f32), 1.0f32);
+        }
         let index_record_option = if scoring_enabled {
             self.index_record_option
         } else {