If you are aspiring to study at a foreign university soon, you should look out for the changes brought in for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
TOEFL is a standardised test that measures the English language ability of non-native speakers aspiring to enroll in English-speaking universities. The test is accepted by more than 11,500 universities and other institutions in over 160 countries, including the USA, the UK, Canada and Australia.
Educational Testing Service (ETS) which conducts the language proficiency test recently announced that they have introduced a few changes in the test which will be applicable from July 26 onwards.
In some of the major changes made in the test process, the duration of the exam has been reduced to one hour 56 minutes instead of three hours and the students will be able to see their official test score upon completion of the test. Moreover, the registration process has also been simplified and the test fees can now be paid in Indian rupees.
ETS has also set up a dedicated customer service for Indian test takers which will be operational 12 hours a day.
EdexLive reached out to Sachin Jain, Managing Director of ETS India, to ask a few questions about the changes brought in. Here are a few excerpts from the conversation:
Why was it decided that changes will be made to TOEFL? What was kept in mind while making these changes?
First and foremost, we implemented these enhancements because our customers deserve the most optimal TOEFL iBT test experience possible. For nearly six decades, TOEFL has pioneered the English-language assessment space and evolved from a single test to a suite of products and services.
In the last four years alone, we’ve introduced new formats, like TOEFL iBT Home Edition and other enhancements, like My Best Scores and instant Reading & Listening scores, that benefit both test takers and score users. We’re continuing that journey with these enhancements. These underscore our continued commitment to optimise our products and services to best serve our customers who rely on them, all the while maintaining the high-quality standards that we’re known for.
To put it simply, we are balancing what our customers want (an optimal experience) with what they need (a reliable measure of English-language proficiency) and innovating our offerings accordingly. And we’re not done yet!
Now that the test scores will be displayed immediately, how do you think this will help the students?
In early 2020, we implemented a feature enabling students to see their unofficial Reading & Listening scores immediately upon test completion. Beginning July 26, test takers will also see the date they can expect to see their official TOEFL iBT scores within their ETS account.
This is just one of the ways we’re looking to be more proactive in our communications with test takers. We know that test takers frequently access their accounts to see whether their scores are available, so we are confident that they will appreciate having the immediate assurance of knowing their target score release date, as well as receiving real-time notification of changes to their score status.
The time duration has been reduced and it reflects in the new timings allotted to every section. Could you explain the rationale behind these cuts? Can you explain to us about the “Independent Writing” will be replaced by the “Writing for an Academic Discussion” task? What can students expect?
Beginning July 26, 2023, the TOEFL iBT test will now take less than two hours to complete. This was achieved through four main changes. The first is streamlined instructions and navigation, which allows test takers to focus more time on the questions being asked and less time reading through the upfront material.
The second is the removal of all unscored test questions. Previously, these were used as part of our statistical analyses to ensure that questions are fair, valid and unbiased. As we’ve looked into opportunities to enhance the test-taker experience, we’ve identified ways to gather the data we need via post-administration analyses, without compromising the validity of scores or the amount of time it takes to deliver them.
Thirdly, we are shortening the Reading section by removing one Reading passage and associated questions. The section will continue to be a rigorous measure of one’s reading abilities and the types of tasks within the section remain the same.
Lastly, we are introducing a new Writing task called Writing for an Academic Discussion task. In it, test takers will be asked to write a post within an online forum with their opinion based on a provided topic. Just like the previous task, this new task will continue to provide evidence that a test taker can write in a way that responds to or builds on ideas expressed in other texts; clearly state and elaborate on a position or argument; and make accurate and meaningful use of a range of grammatical structures and vocabulary in an academic context. The task is a more modern representation of tasks that students may replicate in a university setting (example, engaging in a discussion board).
Can you also tell us in what ways has the registration process simplified? Especially the local payment options.
Beginning July 2023, test takers will be able to create an account and register faster and easier than ever before. In India, since the beginning of April, test takers are also seeing prices presented in INR for the first time and offered the option to pay in INR. In the weeks and months ahead, we’re expanding the local payment options available to Indian test takers as well. In addition to widely used credit cards, test takers will increasingly have the option to pay with locally-issued credit and debit cards, digital wallets and net banking.
Are there any other comments you’d like to make on the changes?
We’re also excited that just this month, we’ve established a dedicated customer service centre exclusively for Indian test takers. The centre will be open from 8 am to 8 pm IST, seven days a week, including holidays.
What else can we expect from ETS in the near future?
People can expect ETS to continue innovating to serve India’s students and workforce. We’re actively listening to our customers, thinking about how to build and grow, and establishing roadmaps for the future. As an example, our investment arm, ETS Strategic Capital, is focused on India as a place for future investment and strategic partnerships in the education and workforce sectors. We are fully committed to the Indian market and are thrilled to watch it continue to flourish in this next decade and beyond.
We are immensely proud of the work we’re doing in India, both to serve students and institutions but also to intiate larger educational initiatives in the country. Since establishing roots through our ETS India office nearly 18 months ago, we’ve made several key accomplishments, and it’s only the beginning.
In that time, we’ve launched TOEFL iBT Paper Edition, which gives test takers in India three unique ways to take TOEFL iBT; established the Business School Advisory Council (BSAC) to further our commitment to higher education in India; kicked off work in support of NCERT’s PARAKH, India’s first national assessment regulator; hosted capacity-building webinars with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on test development, assessment design and item analysis; and made investments in College Dekho and upGrad. These only scratch the surface of what we’ve done to date and we have much more planned. We will have much more to share in the months ahead.
