TOEFL PROGRAM
The TOEFL is the Test of English as a Foreign Language.
More than 11,500 educational institutions and agencies in over 160 countries
accept TOEFL scores to evaluate the English proficiency of people whose native
language is not English. The admissions committees of colleges and universities
in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom,
and a large number of other countries require that foreign applicants submit
TOEFL scores along with transcripts and recommendations to be considered for
admission. In addition, many government, licensing, and certification agencies
and exchange and scholarship programs worldwide use TOEFL scores to assess the
English language skills of people for whom English is not their native language.
Finally, many companies, multinational corporations, and even those Moldovan
businesses that work with foreign partners would like to see the TOEFL scores
of their job applicants in order to measure the ability of the latter
to use and understand English. The TOEFL iBT is the most accessible test in the world, with testing available
in more than 200 countries and territories. The TOEFL iBT Home Edition is
available everywhere that TOEFL testing is normally available, except Iran.
The TOEFL iBT Paper Edition is currently offered 1-2 times a month at authorized
test centers in Colombia, India, Mexico, and the United States.
Almost one million people register to take the TOEFL every year.
The TOEFL Program was launched in 1962 when the National Council
on the Testing of English as a Foreign Language was formed. Its
members were representatives of more than 30 private
organizations and government agencies concerned with the English
proficiency of nonnative speakers of English who wished to study
at colleges and universities in the United States. The council
supported the development of the TOEFL for use starting in
1963-1964. Financed by grants from the Ford and Danforth
Foundations, the TOEFL Program was first administered by the
Modern Language Association. In 1965, the College Board and
Educational Testing Service (ETS) assumed joint responsibility
for the program. Because many who take the TOEFL are potential
graduate students, a cooperative arrangement for the operation of
the program was entered into by ETS, the College Board, and the
Graduate Record Examinations Board in 1973. Under this
arrangement, ETS is responsible for administering the TOEFL
program with guidance from the TOEFL Board.
The test originally contained five sections. As a result of
extensive research, a three-section test measuring listening
comprehension, structure and written expression, and reading
comprehension was developed and introduced in 1976. In July 1995,
the test item format was modified somewhat within the same
three-section structure.
Throughout the 1990s, various constituencies called for a new
TOEFL that would (1) be more reflective of communicative
competence models; (2) include more constructed-response tasks
and direct measures of writing and speaking; (3) include tasks
that integrate the language modalities tested; and (4) provide
more information than the paper-based TOEFL (TOEFL PBT) about the
ability of international students to use English in an academic
environment. Accordingly, the TOEFL Board initiated a broad
effort under which language testing will evolve in the
twenty-first century. The introduction of the computer-based
TOEFL (TOEFL CBT) in July 1998 was the first incremental step in
this broad test-improvement effort.
The next step was the introduction of an Internet-based version
of the TOEFL (TOEFL iBT) in September 2005. The test was first
administered in the United States on September 24, 2005. In
October 2005, it began in Canada, France, Germany, and Italy.
Since then, the TOEFL iBT has been rolled out worldwide. The test
assesses all 4 language skills (reading, listening, speaking, and
writing) that are important for effective communication. The
TOEFL iBT emphasizes integrated skills and provides better
information to institutions about students' ability to
communicate in an academic setting and their readiness for
academic coursework. As the TOEFL iBT was introduced in an area,
the TOEFL CBT was discontinued after a period of overlap in order
to ensure a smooth transition to the TOEFL iBT. The final
administration of the TOEFL CBT was held in September 2006. The
TOEFL PBT continued to be offered on a limited basis to support
the TOEFL iBT testing network.
The last TOEFL PBT was administered in Chișinău on May
13, 2006. The computer-based TOEFL was never administered in our
country. The administration of TOEFL iBT in Moldova started on
September 23, 2006. The Internet-based TOEFL is administered at 3
ETS-certified test centers in Chișinău at least once a
month. To get a schedule of times and test centers, visit the
Test Takers section of the TOEFL website or ask your TOEFL
instructor.
On November 1, 2011, ETS introduced timing and navigation
enhancements to the TOEFL iBT Reading section. In response to
test takers' feedback about the length of the section, ETS
decreased the maximum number of reading passages from 5 to 4.
Test takers now had either 60 minutes to complete 3 reading
passages and questions or 80 minutes to complete 4 reading
passages and questions. In addition, the Reading section was no
longer divided into separately timed parts. Instead, all of the
reading passages and questions were made available in a single
block of time. This change allowed test takers to pace themselves
throughout the entire Reading section. It also allowed navigating
within the entire Reading section so that test takers could skip
questions, go back to review and change responses, or respond to
questions that they might have skipped.
Beginning in March 2013, the Listening and Speaking sections of
the TOEFL iBT test may include other native-speaker English
accents in addition to accents from North America. In the
Speaking section, only question 1 of the 4 tasks, which is the
only Independent Speaking question, may have accented speech.
Test takers may hear accents from the United Kingdom, New
Zealand, or Australia. ETS added these accents to better reflect
the variety of native English accents that you may encounter
while studying abroad.
In 2017, the TOEFL PBT was discontinued and replaced by the
revised TOEFL Paper-delivered Test, which is offered up to 4
times a year in areas where testing via the Internet is not
available. The first administration of the revised test was held
on October 14, 2017. The revised test measures 3 skills using the
same types of questions as on the TOEFL iBT test: Reading,
Listening, and Writing. Speaking is not measured because it
cannot be accommodated on a paper-delivered test. Because the
revised TOEFL Paper-delivered Test is more closely aligned to the
TOEFL iBT test, the revised paper-delivered scores are reported
on the TOEFL iBT score scale, eliminating the previous TOEFL PBT
score scale of 310-677. The scores are reported 5 weeks after the
test date.
On August 1, 2019, ETS started to administer a shorter TOEFL iBT
test, enhanced score reporting, and made the registration process
easier. TOEFL iBT test time was shortened by 30 minutes, to just
3 hours, with no changes to the overall test format or question
types. The shorter test has fewer questions in the Reading,
Listening, and Speaking sections. The Reading section now has
only 10 questions per passage instead of 12-14. The Listening
section now has one or two fewer lectures. No question types were
eliminated from the Reading and Listening sections. Independent
question #1 (express a personal preference) and integrated
question #5 (campus situation; problem/solution) were removed
from the Speaking section. The remaining questions were
renumbered 1 to 4 in the shortened version. For test takers, the
shorter TOEFL iBT test makes for a better testing experience. It
lessens fatigue and improves focus and performance, helping them
to show their best.
On August 1, 2019, ETS also introduced a new feature called
MyBest scores, which combines test takers' best scores for each
section from all of their valid TOEFL iBT scores in the last 2
years. Everyone has a bad day once in a while, and MyBest scores
give test takers a way to show their best overall test
performance. Test takers do not have to do anything to take
advantage of this feature. All TOEFL iBT score reports sent after
August 1, 2019, regardless of the test administration date,
automatically include MyBest scores along with the traditional
scores from selected test dates.
On March 23, 2020, ETS launched the TOEFL iBT Home Edition in selected
countries in response to the test center closures caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
It is currently available everywhere that TOEFL testing is normally available, except Iran.
Monitoring of the test is conducted using live remote proctors and artificial intelligence
technology by ProctorU, the leading proctoring solution for online testing.
On August 21, 2021, ETS launched the TOEFL Essentials test, which measures the
core language skills of listening, reading, writing, and speaking in a wide variety
of environments, beyond just academic, using a multistage adaptive design, in about 1.5 hours.
TOEFL Essentials scores are reported as band scores from 1 to 12 and are valid for 2 years
after the test date. The TOEFL Essentials test is offered worldwide in every country except
Iran. You take the test at home using your own computer and a proctor monitors your session
through an online video camera. The test fee for the TOEFL Essentials test varies from U.S.
$100 to $120, depending on your location. The fee for testing in the Republic of Moldova is U.S.
$110. Many institutions are still making their decisions about accepting the TOEFL Essentials test
and setting score requirements.