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Australian International Education Conference 2011 www.aiec.idp.com

Confidential and Proprietary. Copyright © 2011 by Educational Testing Service. All rights reserved. 17656. ETS, the ETS logo, TOEFL and TOEFL iBT are registered trademarks of Educational Testing Service (ETS) in the U.S.A. and other countries. TOEFL JUNIOR is a trademark of ETS. All other trademarks and product names are the property of their respective owners.

TOEFL ® and IELTS ® Scores:

Research-Based Score Comparisons


The TOEFL® Test

• Widely accepted as evidence of nonnative speakers’

proficiency in the use of English.

• Measures a candidate’s ability to combine listening,

reading, speaking and writing skills.

• Accepted by 8,000+ destinations in more than 130

countries.

• The TOEFL test has now been recognized by DIAC

for student visas

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Purpose of the Study

• DIAC requested that we submit a corresponding set

of TOEFL iBT ® scores to match the IELTS scores in

the regulations for English proficiency standards for

student visa applicants.

• At the university level, comparisons were being made

that did not appear to be based on research.

– What TOEFL iBT section scores are comparable to the DIAC

required IELTS section scores?

– What TOEFL iBT total scores are comparable to the DIAC

required IELTS total scores?

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Similar but not the Same

• Scores from any two English proficiency tests

do not mean exactly the same thing and are

not directly comparable.

– Built from different frameworks and different

blueprints.

– Different formats: Computer vs. Paper

– Different item types.

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Design & Method

• We designed a study to find the corresponding

TOEFL iBT® scores for each of the required IELTS

scores.

• Using a score linking or score method that is

commonly used in other settings (equipercentile

method).

• Identified the corresponding TOEFL score that would

pass the same percentage of test takers for each of

the IELTS scores

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Sample

• Required scores from students who had taken both the

IELTS Academic module and the TOEFL iBT ® test.

• Sample size: 1153 students, usable self-reported scores

from 70 different countries.

– Largest group was from China & Hong Kong

• The majority of the data was in the mid-range of the

distribution, with limited cases with very high or very low

scores.

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Method

1. Created cumulative score distributions for each

section and the total test on both the IELTS and

TOEFL® tests.

2. Identified the percentage of cases scoring at or

above each IELTS score.

3. Identified the TOEFL score that had the percentage

of cases that were closest to the IELTS score.

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Total Score

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Listening

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Writing

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Application

• Provides research-based comparability between

scores on the TOEFL® and IELTS tests that can be

used to evaluate potential applicants and

longitudinal outcomes.

• Allows for the consideration of students who might

have easier access to the TOEFL test.

• Decreases barriers to entry due to cost for some

students.

• Has the potential to increase the diversity of the

applicant pool for admissions purposes.

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Documents

TOEFL and IELTS Scores: Research-Based ... - aiec.idp.com€¦ · –What TOEFL iBT section scores are comparable to the DIAC required IELTS section scores? –What TOEFL iBT total