The Test of English as a Foreign Language (or TOEFL, pronounced "toe-full" or sometimes "toffle") evaluates the potential success of an individual to use and understand Standard American English at a college level. It is required for non-native applicants at many English-speaking colleges and universities. A TOEFL score is valid for two years and then is deleted from the official database.

     The TOEFL test is a registered trademark of Educational Testing Service (ETS) and is administered worldwide. The test was first administered 1964 and has since been taken by nearly 20 million students

Formats and contents

Internet-based

     Since its introduction in late 2005, the Internet-based test (iBT) has progressively replaced both the computer-based (CBT) and paper-based (PBT) tests. The iBT has been introduced in phases, with the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and Italy in 2005 and the rest of the world in 2006, with test centers added regularly.

     The demand for test seats remains very high even after almost a year after the introduction of the test: Candidates have to wait for months since short-term test dates are fully booked. The four-hour test consists of four sections, each measuring mainly one of the basic language skills (although some tasks may require multiple skills) and focusing on language used in an academic, higher-education environment. Note-taking is allowed in the iBT.

• Reading

  After each academic reading passage (out of 3–5), questions are posed about content, intent of the author, and ideas inferred from the passage. New types of questions in the iBT require paraphrasing, filling out tables, or completing summaries. Generally prior knowledge of the subject under discussion is not necessary to come to the correct answer, though a priori knowledge may help.

• Listening

  Questions refer to the content and intent of the phrases, as well as to the speakers' attitude and meaning, either in short conversations or in lectures.

• Speaking

  New to the iBT, this section contains questions relating to personal experiences or preferences, as well as tasks that also involve reading passages and listening to short conversations and lectures. Test takers are expected to convey information, explain ideas, and defend opinions clearly, coherently, and accurately.

• Writing

  One task requires test takers to defend a position relative to a specified general topic. In the other task, a reading passage and a lecture are presented, and test takers must answer a question relating the main points of both the passage and the lecture.

   

Computer-based

     The computer-based test (CBT) was abolished on September 30, 2006. It is divided into four sections, measuring language proficiency in listening, structure (grammar), reading and writing. Note-taking is not allowed.

1. Listening Comprehension (45–70 minutes)
   • Type of Questions: Conversations between two or more people in academic environments. Short conversations between students and lectures may be possible conversations. Questions are basically of the who said what type.
2. Structure (grammar) (15–20 minutes)
   • Type of Questions: Identify the erroneous word(s) in the sentence. Fill in the blanks using the appropriate word.
3. Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary (70-90 minutes)
   • Type of Question: Questions are posed about content, intent of the author, and ideas inferred from each of the 3–4 passages given.
4. Essay Writing (30 minutes)
   • Type of Question: To write an essay on a given general topic and take a position toward it, e.g., "Is stem cell research necessary? Explain your stance."

     The Listening and Structure sections are computer-adaptive, meaning that the difficulty level of each question depends on the correctness of previous responses.

     Three subscores are obtained, each of which is given on a 0–30 scale: Listening, Structure/Writing (combined), and Reading. These subscores are averaged to obtain the final score, which is on a 0–300 scale. The Writing score is reported separately, on a 0–6 scale.

Paper-based

     In areas where the iBT and CBT are not available, a paper-based test (PBT) is given. The PBT tests essentially the same skills as the CBT, albeit with some differences, noticeably the number of questions (which is higher in the PBT) and the score scales. The final PBT score ranges between 310 and 677 and is based on three subscores: Listening (31–68), Structure (31–68), and Reading (31–67). Unlike the CBT, the score of the Writing section (referred to as the Test of Written English, TWE) is not part of the final score; instead, it is reported separately on a scale of 0–6.

ETS has released tables to convert between CBT and PBT scores

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