Beginning in Summer, 1998, students taking the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL®) in many countries will leave their No. 2 pencils behind and use a computer instead. This change is part of an evolutionary effort to create a new and better generation of English proficiency tests.

The transition of TOEFL to computer is part of a project called TOEFL 2000 which began in 1993. It reflects the beliefs of the TOEFL Policy Council and Educational Testing Service (ETS®) that the computer offers new opportunities for better English proficiency assessment that is more responsive to test takers and score users. Use of performance-based questions will also provide schools with better information about an international student's ability to understand and use English.

The computer-based TOEFL will be administered in four sections: Listening, Structure, Reading and Writing. Most sections will have new or improved question types by using computer technology.

The Listening section will continue to measure the test taker's ability to understand English as it is spoken in North America, including frequently used vocabulary, expressions and grammar. With the computer-based version, test takers will now listen to dialogues, talks and group discussions through personal headphones while they see context-setting visuals on the computer screen.

The Structure section will measure the ability to recognize language that is appropriate for standard written English. The Reading section will still use passages to measure the ability to understand non-technical reading material, but new tasks that require the test taker to become more closely involved with the text have been developed. The Writing section will measure the person's ability to generate, organize and support ideas using standard written English in an essay. In order not to disadvantage people who lack keyboard skills, test takers may handwrite or type the essay. The essay rating will now be combined with the Structure section score to create a compiled Structure/Writing scaled score. The essay rating will constitute one-half of the Structure/Writing scaled score.

Another improvement is that the Listening and Structure sections will be computer-adaptive. Test takers receive questions that are appropriate for their performance level. The section begins with a question of average difficulty. If the test taker answers the question correctly, the next question will be one that fulfills the test design and will typically be of the same or higher difficulty level. If the test taker answers incorrectly, the next question will be one that fulfills the test design and will typically be of the same or lower difficulty level. Thus, all subsequent questions presented are based in part on the test taker's performance on previous questions and in part on the test design.

Computer-based TOEFL will be offered worldwide at Sylvan Technology Centers®, specified university test centers, ETS field offices and other locations worldwide. Testing will be available year-round at more than 300 test centers around the world. Test takers will make appointments by calling either their local test center or Regional Registration Center. The appointments can be made within a few days of testing. However, test takers should consider admission deadlines and call early to maximize chances of getting preferred test dates at the most convenient center.

The entire testing experience will also improve as test takers will sit in private carrels where they will use volume-controlled headphones. Score reporting will also be faster -- students will see partial scores on the screen at the test center and official score reports will be sent usually within two weeks of testing.

Because the content and format of the TOEFL test have changed, scores on the computer-based test will be reported on a new score scale. This new score scale has been designed to distinguish scores received on the computer-based TOEFL from those received on the paper-based test. For the computer-based test, the examinee will receive four scaled scores: Listening (0 to 30), Structure/Writing (0 to 30), Reading (0 to 30), and a total score (000 to 300). The three section scores and a total score will be reported on the score report. The essay rating will be integrated in the Structure/Writing score; in addition, the score on the essay will be reported as an independent rating on this form. To assist score users in setting new score standards on the new scale, work has begun to produce a concordance study and table that will relate scores on the computer-based test with those on the paper-based exam. Results of the concorandance study and table will be available in the Spring, 1998.

The TOEFL program has taken steps to assure that an individual's test performance is not influenced by a lack of computer experience. A tutorial, designed especially for non-native speakers of English, has been developed to teach the skills needed to take the computer-based TOEFL. The results from a study conducted by ETS indicate the tutorial is effective because there was no practical difference between the performance of test takers who were familiar and unfamiliar with the computer. Additional information on this computer familiarity study will be available in early 1998.

Although the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Indonesia will make the transition to computer in 1998, the paper-based test will continue to be administered in the other areas in Asia. However, once computer-based TOEFL is introduced in a country, the paper-based program will be eliminated. ETS plans to complete the transition to computer by the year 2001.

ETS will provide preparation packages that allow candidates to review the tutorial and to practice using sample test questions on the computer. In March, 1998, The TOEFL Sampler, a free CD-Rom with a tutorial and sample questions will be available worldwide; the package will also be downloadable from the TOEFL Web site at www.toefl.org.

To schedule an appointment for the computer-based TOEFL starting July, 1998, in the following countries or areas, test takers should use the International Test Scheduling Form (found in the center of the TOEFL Information Bulletin for Computer-Based Testing). The International Test Scheduling Form can be faxed or mailed to the appropriate Regional Registration Center (RRC). The test taker can also register by phone with the Regional Registration Center using a VISA, MasterCard or American Express card. Please refer to the TOEFL Information Bulletin for Computer-Based Testing for additional registration information.

Australia and New Zealand

(For candidates testing in Australia, Fiji, Northern Mariana Islands, Fed. States of Micronesia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga)

Sylvan Learning Systems Pty. Ltd.
P.O. Box 5343
Chatswood, N.S.W. 2067
Australia
Telephone: 61-2-9903-9797
Fax: 61-2-9415-3105

Indonesia

The International Education Foundation/Sylvan Prometric
Menara Imperium
28th Floor, Suite B
Jalan H.R. Rasuna Said
Metropolitan Kuningan,
Super Blok Kav. No 1
12950 Jakarta, Selantan
Indonesia
Telephone: 62-21-831-7304/5, extension 23
Fax: 62-21-831-7306

Latin American and Caribbean

(For candidates testing in Antigua, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela)

Sylvan Learning Systems International Ltd.
P.O. Box 38502
Baltimore, Maryland 21231
USA
Telephone: 1-410-843-8160
Fax: 1-410-843-8569

Malaysia

(For candidates testing in Brunei, Darussalam, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore and Sri Lanka)

Sylvan Learning Systems B.V.
Branch Office
PO Box 12964
50794 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Telephone: 60-3-467-8610
Fax: 60-3-467-8606

Middle East and North Africa

(For candidates testing in Bahrain, Egypt, Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, West Bank and Yemen)

AMIDEAST/Sylvan Prometric
6 Kamel El Shennawy Street
(ex Nabatat Street)
2nd Floor, Apartment 5,
Garden City, Cairo Egypt
Telephone: 20-2-594-0033
Fax: 20-2-355-2946

Sub-Saharan Africa

(For candidates testing in Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissan, Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zaire, and Zimbabwe)

Sylvan Learning Systems Pty. Ltd.
P.O. Box 30855
2017 Braamfontein
South Africa
Telephone: 27-11-403-6454
Fax: 27-11-403-2535

Western and Eastern Europe and Newly Independent States

(For candidates testing in the Baltics, Eastern Europe, Iceland, Israel, Scandinavia, Turkey, NIS, Russia and Western Europe)

Sylvan Learning Systems B.V.
CITO
P.O. Box 1109
6801 BE Arnhem
The Netherlands
Telephone: 31-26-352-1577
Fax: 31-26-352-1278

The paper-based TOEFL will continue to be administered in the following countries or areas until the computer-based TOEFL is introduced. To register for the paper-based TOEFL test in these countries or areas, test takers should use the Registration Form (found in the center of the TOEFL Bulletin of Information). Test takers should contact the appropriate ETS representative to register for paper-based TOEFL.

Bangladesh

TOEFL Services
Test of English as a Foreign Language
P.O. Box 6151
Princeton, NJ 08541-6151 USA
Telephone: 609-771-7100

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Examinations Authority
San Po Kong Sub-Office
17 Tseuk Luk Street
San Po Kong
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Telephone: 2328-0061, extension 365

India/Bhutan

Institute of Psychological and Educational Measurement
Post Box No. 19
119/25-A Mahatma Gandhi Marg
Allahabad, U.P. 211 001 India
Telephone: 532-624881 or 624988

Japan

Council on International Educational Exchange
TOEFL Division
Cosmos Aoyama B1
5-53-67 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku
Tokyo 150-8355, Japan
Telephone: 81-3-5467-5520

Korea

Korean-American Educational Commission
K.P.O. Box 643
Seoul 110-606, Korea
Telephone: 02-732-7928/29

Macau

TOEFL Services
Test of English as a Foreign Language
P.O. Box 6151
Princeton, NJ 08541-6151 USA
Telephone: 609-771-7100

Pakistan

World Learning Inc.
P.O. Box 13042
Karachi, 75350 Pakistan
Telephone: 92-21-455-7166/455-8649

People's Republic of China

China International Examinations Coordination Bureau
No. 167 Haidian Road,
Haidian District
Beijing 100080
People's Republic of China
Telephone: 10-6251-3994

Taiwan

The Language Training and Testing Center
P.O. Box 23-41
Taipei 106, Taiwan
Telephone: 02-2362-6045

Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam

Institute of International Education
G.P.O. Box 2050
Bangkok 10501, Thailand
Telephone: 66-2-639-2700

Vietnam

Institute of International Education

127 Ba Trieu, Hanoi
Vietnam
Telephone: 844-943-0711

Back to Virtual Educational Advising Office
Back to OSEAS-Europe home page