A Brief Introduction to the TOEFL
If you’re a foreign student planning to attend college or graduate school in the United States, chances are you need to take the TOEFL® — the Test of English as a Foreign Language. More than 5,200 colleges and universities worldwide require this test as part of your application. It is designed to evaluate your mastery of the English language and your ability to be successful in an English-speaking academic environment. Each year, more than half a million students take the test, primarily for the purpose of attending graduate school. The TOEFL is also used by undergraduate institutions and by several government agencies and other organizations for professional certification.
How it’s administered
Until 2005, the TOEFL was administered primarily as a computer-based test (CBT) at designated ETS test centers worldwide. (ETS is the Educational Testing Service, the agency which develops and administers the test.) A new version of the test, the TOEFL iBT®, or internet-based TOEFL, was introduced in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Puerto Rico in 2005. Starting in March 2006, ETS began introducing the TOEFL iBT to other countries around the world, including selected cities in Africa, the Americas, Europe, Eurasia, the Middle East, and North Africa.
Eventually, the TOEFL iBT will be integrated worldwide, but for now, the paper-based version (along with the Test of Spoken English) is still being administered.
Author: Amy Ambler
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