TOEFL Information

TOEFL iBT testing began in the United States in September, in Canada, France, Germany and Italy in October and in Puerto Rico in January.  To date there have been 14 TOEFL iBT test administrations.  Over 33,000 students have been tested and approximately 48,000 students have registered.  Scoring has been accurate, and scores have been reported to both students and universities on time.

In January the TOEFL Committee of Examiners, an independent body of renowned professionals in the field of English language assessment from the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom met to review the psychometric performance of the test.  In a report to the external TOEFL Board, they congratulated ETS on the performance of the new test, and wrote that, “The long awaited test constitutes a major landmark in the history of language testing.”  The test analysis of the first four test administrations showed a high total test reliability, well over .9, and indicated the new integrated test questions that require students to combine their abilities are performing as intended.

The TOEFL iBT delivery technology which was critical to offering this integrated, communicative test of all four language skills is working as planned.  There have been some problems that affected students’ ability to test at the center of their choice but the problems have mostly been related to miscommunication, new center procedures and the training of supervisors.

The largest challenge has been the preparation of new test centers.  Although recruitment for test centers has gone well, the amount of time needed to get the new centers ready for testing has taken longer than initially anticipated.  This resulted in shortfalls in some areas, and some students were not able to test in their desired time frame for admission decisions.  ETS understands the seriousness of this situation, and has worked to both streamline the process and increase the number of ETS and Thompson Prometric staff dedicated to preparing the new centers.  We have also taken the following steps to provide additional access to your applicants:

• •  Offering additional TOEFL iBT test dates
• •  Adding new test sites regularly
• •  Using non-traditional testing sites (e.g., CompUSA) as needed
• •  Offering TOEFL paper-based administrations in Paris, Nancy, Toulouse, Lyon, Milan, Toronto, Maine, Virginia and New Hampshire.

Even though 33,000 students have successfully taken the test to date, ETS sincerely regrets if any of your applicants were unable to test during this first phase of the TOEFL iBT launch.  Once the network is fully established, Internet-based delivery will allow us to reach your applicants in a greater number of locations than is currently possible in what is already the world’s largest English language testing network.  Whenever possible, we ask universities to be flexible in their application deadlines for students during this transition period.

Next Stages of the TOEFL iBT Introduction

ETS is preparing for the next phases of the TOEFL iBT launch.  To ensure all your applicants can access the TOEFL test during this transition, and in response to your concerns, we have decided to modify the launch schedule.  ETS will introduce the new test in selected cities, while maintaining the current version of the test in other locations.  A list of cities where TOEFL iBT is offered will be available by February 3 on the TOEFL Web site at www.ets.org/toefl and updated on a weekly basis.

It is vital that students be informed of this change so they will know what to expect.  We will be working closely with educational advising offices and Fulbright offices overseas to provide updated information for students locally.

March 2006
On March 25, test centers in selected cities in the following regions will offer TOEFL iBT for the first time:  Africa, the Americas, Europe, Eurasia, the Middle East, and North Africa.   Registration opens on February 8.  In all other cities in these regions the current method of TOEFL testing will continue.  The list of cities and specific details can be found at www.ets.org/toefl by February 3.

April 2006
In April, test centers in selected cities in Asia and the Pacific Region will begin to offer TOEFL iBT.

May 2006
In May, test centers in selected cities in Japan and Korea will begin to offer TOEFL iBT.

August 2006
In August, TOEFL iBT will begin in China.

ETS is committed to providing both measurement excellence and increased access for your applicants.  If you or your applicants experience difficulties during this transitional period, please contact us so we can assist you.  TOEFL has staff members who work closely with score users, and they can be contacted at the following addresses:
Terry Axe - mailto:taxe@ets.org
Eileen Tyson - mailto:etyson@ets.org

You may also send your TOEFL iBT questions to toeflnews@ets.org.  Test takers may send their TOEFL iBT questions to mailto:toefl@ets.org.  To learn more about becoming a TOEFL iBT test center, visit www.ets.org/ecep or write to ecep@ets.org.