Running head: TEST REVIEW 1

Test Review:

A Review and Comparison for the TOEFL iBT and the IELTS Academic

Monchi Liu

Colorado State University

TEST REVIEW 2

Introduction

In the context of global economic integration, hundreds of thousands of Chinese students

choose to go abroad to study abroad every year. Chinese students mainly choose to study in the

Commonwealth countries and North America. The first thing needs to be solved after deciding to

study abroad is the language test. Then it comes to the focus for this paper – test review. Test

takers need to know what test they should take; which test fits their needs the best; how long the

test is; what skills the test assess; and so many other related questions. As a future language

teacher, it is very essential for me to have a strong understanding of the assessments that my

future students would likely participate in. By analyzing the test results, it can help me develop

and revise the curriculum to better fit students’ needs.

For this test review, I am reviewing the two major English language proficiency tests

which serve for academic purposes in the Commonwealth countries and North America. They

are the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT) and the

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic. The TOEFL iBT test is

administered by Educational Testing Service (ETS) and the IELTS Academic test is co-

administered by British Council, IDP Education, and Cambridge English Language Assessment.

My purposes in reviewing these two tests are (a) my future students may use one of these tests to

enroll in universities in English-speaking countries and (b) these tests are the most accepted

English language proficiency tests for nonnative speakers (Kang, 2013). In reviewing these two

tests, I want to learn how they assess the four skills in English and how reliable the tasks have

been designed to assess the language ability of students in university level.

TEST REVIEW 3

Test Review

Name of the Test: Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT)

Publisher: Educational Testing Service (ETS), ETS Corporate Headquarters

660 Rosedale Road, Princeton, NJ 08541 USA
Phone: 1-609-921-9000
Website: https://www.ets.org/toefl

Publication Date: 2005

Target Population: According to ETS (2018), five kinds of people take the TOEFL iBT test:
1) students planning to study at a higher education institution; 2) English-
language learning program admissions and exit; 3) scholarship and
certification candidates; 4) English-language learners who want to track
their progress; 5) students and workers applying for visas.

Cost: The cost of the test varies by location. It costs $195 in the USA and
1761RMB (approximately $280) in China.

Overview
Since the TOEFL test inception in 1963, it has evolved from a paper-based test, to a computer-
based test and, in 2005, to an internet-based test (Enright, 2011). The TOEFL test score is valid
for two years, starting from the test date. For example, if I take the TOEFL on April 8, 2018,
then the test score is valid from April 8, 2018 to April 8, 2020. The TOEFL test is designed to
evaluate and measure the ability of people whose native language is not English to use English in
an academic environment. It is an integrated proficiency test, which assesses all four language
skills (listening, reading, speaking, and writing). See Table 1 for an extended description of the
TOEFL iBT test.

Table 1
Extended description for TOEFL iBT test
Purpose of The purpose of the test is to assess the English proficiency of nonnative
the test English speakers. The test score is primarily used to measure the English
ability of international students to use English in an academic environment.
Structure of The whole test includes four sections, corresponding to the four language
the test skills: Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. Each section is scored
ranging between 0-30, resulting in a total score of 120. Below is a detailed
description table which cited from ETS (2010, p.2).

Section Number of Testing Time Score Scale

Items/Tasks
Reading 36-70 60-100 0-30
minutes
Listening 34-51 60-90 minutes 0-30
Break 10 minutes
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Speaking 6 tasks 20 minutes 0-30

Writing 2 tasks 50 minutes 0-30
Total Approximately 0-120
4 hours
Scoring of “The scales for the measures on the TOEFL iBT test were established such
the test that the same scale range (0-30) for the four sections (Reading, Listening,
Speaking, and Writing) was chosen to indicate that all sections should be
viewed as being equally important in measuring the construct of academic
language ability” (ETS, 2011, p.6). Both human raters and automated scoring
methods are incorporated. The reading and listening sections are scored by
automated scoring system, whereas the speaking and writing sections are
scored by both. The automated scoring is used to complement human scoring
for the second tasks in the Writing section. Combining human judgment for
content and meaning, and automated scoring for linguistic features, ensures
consistent, quality scores (ETS, 2018).
Statistical ETS conducted a research to present the data that based on test takers who
distribution took the TOEFL iBT test between January 2016 and December 2016. The
of the test table below shows the mean and the standard deviation for the four sections of
all observed groups (ETS, 2017).

Reading Listening Speaking Writing Total

Mean 20.5 20.2 20.4 20.9 82
S.D. 6.6 6.7 4.3 4.7 20
Standard The table below shows data of the standard error of measurement (SEM) based
error of on the operational data from 2007 (ETS, 2011).
measurement
(SEM) Score Scale SEM
Reading 0-30 3.35
Listening 0-30 3.20
Speaking 0-30 1.62
Writing 0-30 2.76
Total 0-120 5.64
Evidence for Reliability is represented by a statistical index, ranging from 0 (not reliable at
reliability all) to 1(completely reliable). The table below expresses the reliability
estimates for the four sections based on the operational data from 2007 (ETS,
2011).

Score Scale Reliability Estimate

Reading 0-30 0.85
Listening 0-30 0.85
Speaking 0-30 0.88
Writing 0-30 0.74
Total 0-120 0.94
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The reliability estimates for the first three sections, and the total scores are
relatively high, whereas the writing reliability is lower than others. According
to ETS (2011, p.5), “this is a typical result for writing measures composed of
only two tasks (Breland, Bridgeman, & Fowles, 1999) and reflects one well-
documented limitation of performance testing—reliability estimates for
measures composed of a small number of time-consuming tasks are often
lower than estimates for measures composed of many shorter, less time-
consuming tasks.”
Evidence for The validation process of the TOEFL iBT test began with the
validity conceptualization and design of the test (Chapelle, Enright, & Jamieson,
2008). It is still being used with an ongoing program of validation research.
The table below lays out the validity argument for the TOEFL iBT test (ETS,
2011, p.3).

Proposition
The content is relevant to the
kinds of tasks and written and
oral texts that students encounter
in university settings.
Tasks and scoring criteria are
appropriate for obtaining
evidence of test takers’
academic language abilities.
Academic language proficiency
is revealed by the linguistic
knowledge, processes, and
strategies test takers use to
respond to test tasks.
The structure of the test is
consistent with theoretical views
of the relationships among
English language skills.
Performance on the test is
related to other indicators of
criteria of academic language
proficiency.
The test results are used
appropriately and have positive
consequences.
Evidence
Reviews of research and
empirical studies of language
use at English-medium
institutions of higher education
Pilot and field studies of task
and test design; systematic
development of rubrics for
scoring written and spoken
responses
Investigations of discourse
characteristics of written and
spoken responses and strategies
used in answering reading
comprehension questions
Factor analyses of a field-study
test form
Relationships between test
scores and self-assessments,
academic placements, local
assessments of international
teaching assistants, performance
on simulated academic listening
tasks
Development of materials to
help test users prepare for the
test and interpret test scores
appropriately; long-term
empirical study of test impact
(washback)
TEST REVIEW 6

Name of the Test: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic

Publisher: British Council, IDP Education, and Cambridge English Language

Assessment
Website: https://www.ielts.org/

Publication Date: 1989

Target Population: The IELTS Academic test is designed for people who apply for higher
education or professional registration in an English-speaking environment.

Cost: The cost of the test varies by country. It costs $240 in the USA and
2020RMB (approximately $320) in China.

Overview
Since IELTS was established in 1989, it is jointly managed by the British Council, IDP: IELTS
Australia, and Cambridge English Language Assessment. Among these, the Cambridge English
Language Assessment is responsible for the academic level and the content of the test, while the
IDP and the British Council are responsible for regular examinations around the world. There are
two modules of the IELTS test, Academic Module and General Training Module. The difference
between these two modules are the context and the purpose of the tasks. All other features are
identical. The IELTS Academic test is also an integrated proficiency test, which assesses all four
language skills (listening, reading, speaking, and writing). See Table 1 for an extended
description of the IELTS Academic test.

Table 1
Extended description for IELTS Academic test
Purpose of “The IELTS Academic test is suitable for entry to study at undergraduate or
the test postgraduate levels, and also for professional registration purposes. It assesses
whether you are ready to begin studying or training in an environment where
English language is used, and reflects some of the features of language used in
academic study” (IELTS for study, 2017).
Structure of Unlike the TOEFL iBT test, the IELTS Academic test is a paper-based test. It
the test consists of four sections (Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking). A
detailed description table is provided below (Cambridge Assessment, 2018).

Paper Content Time

Listening 40 questions Appropriately 30
minutes (plus 10
minutes’ transfer time)
Reading 40 questions 60 minutes
Writing 2 tasks 60 minutes
Speaking 3 parts 11-14 minutes
Scoring of The IELTS Academic test uses a unique scoring system. Test takers receive a
the test transcript with a score for each component/section and an Overall Band Score.
The scores are scored on a nine-band scale (0-9), and each band corresponds to
TEST REVIEW 7

a specified competence in English. “The Overall Band Score is the average of

the four component scores, rounded to the nearest whole or half band. If the
average of the four components ends in .25, the Overall Band Score is rounded
up to the next half band, and if it ends in .75, the Overall Band Score is
rounded up to the next whole band” (IELTS scoring in detail, 2017).
Statistical The IELTS website shows that in the year of 2016, 80.7% test takers attended
distribution the Academic test and 19.3% test takers attended the General Training test. It
of the test also lists the mean overall and individual band scores achieved by 2016
Academic test according to their gender. However, the standard deviation is
not available on the website. The table below illustrates the mean scores from
the IELTS Academic test (IELTS Test takers performance 2016, 2017).

Academic Listening Reading Writing Speaking Overall

Male 6.1 6.0 5.5 5.8 5.9
Female 6.2 6.1 5.6 5.9 6.0
Standard Below is a table shows the mean, standard deviation and standard error of
error of measurement of Listening and Reading (2016).
measurement
(SEM) Module Mean SD SEM
Listening 6.10 1.3 0.37
Academic 6.02 1.2 0.38
Reading

“The SEM should be interpreted in terms of the final band scores reported for
Listening and Reading components (which are reported in half-bands)”
(IELTS Test performance 2016, 2017).
Evidence for Due to the fact that the writing and speaking sections are scored by human,
reliability there are very little evidence provided by IELTS for these two sections.
However, the IELTS Academic reported the reliability of reading and listening
modules. It is reported using Cronbach's alpha. The listening and reading
reliability values are estimated and reported as follows (IELTS Test
performance 2016, 2017):
• The average listening version Alpha is 0.91 overall.
• The average academic reading version Alpha is 0.90 overall.
Evidence for The IELTS website does not provide the evidence of validity directly, but they
validity introduce a study of “predicative validity in the IELTS test.” If students’
academic performance aligns with their test score, then we can treat it as an
evidence for validity of the test. Mary Kerstjens and Caryn Nery (2000)
mainly investigated the relationship between IELTS scores and students’
academic performance. The IELTS scores of 113 first-year international
students were correlated with their first semester grade point average (GPA).
In the total sample, significant correlations were found between the reading
and writing sections and GPA (.262, .204 respectively).
TEST REVIEW 8

Discussion

The ideal educational context would be a group of homogeneous learners who intend to

study in the United States. Learners in this situation are high school and/or college students with

a corresponding education background ranging in ages between 18 – 30 years old. These learners

plan to study at a higher education institution and/or immigrant to the United States. The learners

in the classroom are from different places and cities in China, but their L1s are all Chinese.

Further, the English proficiency level among these learners are various, but since all of them

learned English from primary school, they still have a good English basis.

The class consists of 10 to 20 learners with a 4 hours class twice a week. Some of the

learners are motivated by their parents, but most of them are self-directed learners. They are

eager to get admitted to their dream school. All the course materials are provided by the

instructor.

Based on the educational context and the comparison of the two tests, I would conclude

that the TOEFL iBT would be more appropriate for my ideal learners. However, individual

differences somehow impact learners’ choice. For those who desire to study abroad, IELTS or

TOEFL is their first question that needs to be answered. Many people still stay in the concept

from a few years ago, that is, take the TOEFL test to go to the United States, and take the IELTS

test to go to Britain, Australia, and other British Commonwealth of Nations. But the reality is

that both IELTS and TOEFL can apply to schools in any country (with the exception of

individual schools). However, there are two issues that need to be clearly addressed before the

learners take the test.

First issue that need to be considered is whether the learner have to take other tests. Take

the learner is going to study in the United States as an example, if they pursue a bachelor’s
TEST REVIEW 9

degree, they will have to take the SAT in addition to the language proficiency test. If they pursue

a master’s degree, in general, they will have to take the GRE at least, some majors also involve

the GMAT or LSAT. Since these are required tests, and they are all issued by ETS or other

American organizations, which means they have certain degree of similarity in their ways of

assessments. Preparing for the TOEFL also lays the foundation for those harder tests.

Second issue that need to be addressed is whether the learner is comfortable with

computer operation. The TOEFL iBT test is a completely internet-based test, which means the

test taker will face the computer to complete all the test process. This involves some students

who may not be able to adapt to the computer operation. For example, test takers with slow

English typing may not be able to complete the writing section in time, as well as test takers may

not give their actual level of speaking when speak to a machine. The IELTS test, on the other

hand, is still paper-based test, and the speaking section is assessed face to face. Therefore, if the

learner is comfortable with handwriting and is willing to communicate with the examiner face to

face, the IELTS will be a relatively suitable choice.

TEST REVIEW 10

References

Cambridge Assessment. (2018). IELTS Test Format. Cambridge English Language Assessment.

Retrieved from http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/ielts/test-

format/#academic

Chapelle, C. A., Enright, M. K., & Jamieson, J. M. (Eds.) (2008). Building a validity argument

for the Test of English as a Foreign Language. New York: Routledge.

Enright, M. (2011). TOEFL iBT® Research Insight Series 1 Volume 6: TOEFL Program History.

English Testing Service. Retrieved from

https://www.ets.org/s/toefl/pdf/toefl_ibt_insight_s1v6.pdf

ETS. (2010). TOEFL iBT® Research Insight Series 1 Volume 1: TOEFL iBT Test Framework

and Test Development. English Testing Service, p. 2. Retrieved from

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https://www.ets.org/s/toefl/pdf/toefl_ibt_research_s1v3.pdf

ETS. (2011). TOEFL iBT® Research Insight Series 1 Volume 4: Validity Evidence Supporting

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https://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/about
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