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Testing English as a Foreign Language for University

Admissions
By Nick Clark, Editor, World Education News & Reviews
According to recently released figures from the OECD, the number of students enrolled outside their
country of citizenship more than doubled in the period between 2000 and 2012, to a total of
approximately 4.5 million. Of those 4.5 million students, 44 percent were studying in one of six
major English-language destinations: The United States (16%), the United Kingdom (13%), Australia
(6%), Canada (5%), New Zealand (2%), and South Africa (2%).
In addition, many institutions of higher education in countries where English is not the primary
language of instruction now offer programs taught in English, especially at the graduate level and
targeted heavily at international students. According to a 2013 report from the Institute of
International Education, as of June 2013 the total number of English-taught master's programs in
Continental Europe was 6,609, a 42 percent increase since 2011. With institutions in Asian host
countries also rapidly developing English-language programs, it seems fair to assume that at least
half of the world's globally mobile student population is today studying either wholly or partly in the
English language.
It is also reasonably fair to assume that 50 percent or more of the world's 4.5 million international
students are traveling from countries were English is not the official language. Indeed, of the 4.5
million students enrolled outside their home country in 2012, 53 percent were from Asia, according
to the OECD's 2014 Education at a Glance report. With the exception of students from India (5.8
percent of the global stock of international students), the vast majority of internationally mobile
Asian students are coming from education systems where English is not widely used. In the United
States alone, 78 percent (525,025) of all enrollments from the top 25 source countries - representing
82 percent of all international enrollments in the country - are from non-English-speaking nations.
With so many non-native learners moving across borders to study in English, the issue of linguistic
preparedness has become a significant one and has emerged as an issue of much debate among
stakeholders and professionals within the international education sector. The debate is complex, but
the major areas of concern center around how well prepared international students from non-
English backgrounds are for academic study, and whether or not institutions have been softening
standards in recent years to boost enrollments. This becomes an especially pertinent area of concern
when one considers the financial and reputational (vis- -vis global league tables) windfalls that can
come from enrolling significant numbers of international students.
In this article, we offer insight into the two organizations that dominate the market for standardized
English-proficiency testing, with an examination of data trends and a survey of the English-language
threshold scores required by different institution types in the United States.
Tests of English as a Foreign Academic Language
There are many tests of English as a foreign language currently available to test takers, but two
dominate when it comes to university admissions. These are the Test of English as a Foreign
Language (TOEFL), owned and operated by New Jersey-based Educational Testing Services (ETS),
and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), jointly owned by the British
Council, IDP: IELTS Australia, and Cambridge English Language Assessment.
According to ETS, the TOEFL test is used by more than 9,000 colleges, universities and
agencies in more than 130 countries to help them make admissions decisions, making it "the most
widely accepted English-language test in the world." A reported 27 million people have taken the
TOEFL test over the years.
The IELTS partnership reports similar participation and user numbers through its website. It states
that the IELTS test is also accepted as evidence of English language proficiency by over 9,000
organizations worldwide. Last year, more than 2.2 million IELTS tests were taken globally.
Both tests have a long history, TOEFL dating back to 1964 and IELTS, in its current format, having
been on offer for over 25 years. With its beginnings in the United States, the TOEFL examination
has traditionally been viewed as a U.S.-centric test of English proficiency, while the IELTS test with
its Anglo-Australian roots has traditionally been used by UK and Australian institutions. Today,
however, both tests are widely accepted by institutions all around the world.
ETS TOEFL
The TOEFL test is designed to measure English skills relevant to an academic classroom. There are
two variations of the test: Paper and Internet.
Paper Testing
The TOEFL paper-based test (PBT) is being phased out by ETS, with 96 percent of TOEFL test
takers worldwide now taking the internet-based Test (iBT). Unlike the iBT, which measures all four
communication skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking) the PBT does not measure oral academic
skills.
The test includes four sections: Listening Comprehension, Structure and Written Expression,
Reading Comprehension, and the Test of Written English (TWE). It is scored on a total scale of 310
to 677, with individual sections marked from 31 to 67/68 and converted by statistical means to the
overall score. The TWE is reported on a scale of 1 to 6 and printed in a separate box on the TOEFL
score report.
Internet Testing
The TOEFL iBT, administered via the Internet, is specifically designed to measure test-takers' ability
to use and understand English at the university level. It tests all four key linguistic skills as relates to
academic tasks.
The iBT test is administered in four sections, each of which is scored on a scale of 0-30 for a total
score of 120. The test lasts approximately four hours and can be taken multiple times. ETS uses the
following descriptives and threshold levels for each skill. In-depth descriptives for the different
levels identified below are available here.
The test is graded using both human raters and automated scoring, combining human judgment for
content and meaning, and automated scoring for linguistic ability.
ETS cites on its website the numerous measures it employs to ensure consistent, quality scores.
These include: off-site scoring at central locations, anonymity of test takers from scorers, and
multiple raters' judgments contributing to each test taker's oral and writing scores.
ETS recommends that test scores are valid for two years and that individual higher education
institutions set their own score requirements for admission.
The test is offered more than 50 times a year and is offered in test locations around the world.
IELTS
With its British and Australian roots, the IELTS test is recognized by all universities and most other
education providers in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, as well as most universities in Canada.
Today it is also recognized by a majority of institutions in the United States (3,000 higher education
institutions and programs, according to IELTS).
It is offered in two formats: IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. The distinction between
the Academic version and the General Training version lies in the subject matter of the Reading and
Writing components.
Scoring
As with the TOEFL exam, there is no pass or fail for the IELTS test. Candidates are graded on their
performance using scores from 1 (Non User) to 9 (Expert User) for each part of the test - Listening,
Reading, Writing and Speaking - with .5 increments between each band. The results from the four
parts are then averaged to produce an Overall Band Score. Each band corresponds to a level of
English competence, defined by IELTS, both for the four individual sections and also for the overall
score.
IELTS scores have a recommended validity period of two years.
TOEFL/IELTS Equivalency
Education Testing Services published a study in 2010 comparing iBT TOEFL scores with IELTS band
scores. The resulting comparison chart is based on the analysis of 1,153 individuals who took both
the TOEFL test and the IELTS academic test in 2009. The table below shows the equivalency results
for overall scores. The full report also provides details on equivalencies for scoring in all four
individual skills.
English Language Admissions Standards
As both ETS and IELTS make clear in their literature, there is no pass or fail threshold for either
test, rather they are designed as proficiency evaluations: the higher the score, the more proficient
the test taker. Institutions set their standards as they see fit.
Both organizations offer guidance on their grading standards, but stop short of making specific
admissions recommendations.
IELTS offers the following grading guidance for institutions:
As the table above shows, a score of 7.0 or better on the IELTS test is generally considered adequate
evidence of English-language competency for all academic programs. The least linguistically
demanding programs might consider a score as low as 5.5 for admissions.
IELTS gives the following as examples of programs that might fall into the linguistically less-
demanding category: animal husbandry, catering, and fire services. For most linguistically
demanding programs, it offers these examples: medicine, law, linguistics, journalism, and library
studies.
Additional details on IELTS scoring standards are available here.
ETS also offers a wide array of studies and data to help institutions and programs set their English-
language testing standards. The following table is based on scores attained by all TOEFL iBT
candidates in 2013, and reported in Test and Score Data Summary for TOEFL iBT Tests, January
2013-December 2013.
In the same publication cited above, ETS also publishes data related to native tongue and average
TOEFL iBT scores, with the following disclaimer:
"[The] tables may be useful in comparing the performance on the TOEFL iBT test of particular
students with that of other students from the same native country and with that of students who
speak the same language. ETS, creator of the TOEFL test, does not endorse the practice of ranking
countries on the basis of TOEFL scores, as this a misuse of data."
The table below offers interesting insights on average English competency standards from selected
high-volume source countries. Not surprisingly, the native tongues that perform among the best on
the TOEFL iBT (Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu) are found predominantly in countries where English is an
official language (India and Pakistan). Many European countries also have very strong levels of
English proficiency.
English-Language Admissions Standards at U.S. Institutions of Higher Education
To gain an understanding of the English-language requirements set by different types of institutions
of higher education in the United States, we took a look at standardized score requirements posted
to the international admissions pages of the following categories of institution:
Most selective
Least selective
Top-10 admitters of international students by absolute volume, further sub-divided by:
Two-year schools.
Four-year schools.
The table above shows the English-language admissions standards for the 10 university-level
institutions that admitted the highest number of international students in 2012/13 (IIE Open Doors).
The four private schools on that list - University of Southern California, New York University,
Columbia, and Northeastern - all set their minimum undergraduate admissions standards at 100 for
the TOEFL iBT and 7.0/7.5 for IELTS. These are scores that both IELTS and TOEFL recommend
broadly as showing sufficient preparation for higher studies in a linguistically demanding program.
Northeastern may admit on scores below 100 & 7.0 but states that additional internal assessment
and, potentially, English instruction would be required.
The big public and land grant institutions, with their missions of broader admissions access,
generally set lower English-proficiency scores. These range from 79 & 6.5 to 88 & 7.0, with most on
the lower end of the scale.
Not surprisingly, the top admitters of international students among community colleges advertise
lower English-proficiency scores than top enrollers at the university level. Score requirements
among the top 10 range from 52 & 5.5 to 79 & 6.5.
Most community colleges with larger international enrollments offer intensive English-language
training. As can be seen from TOEFL iBT data charted above, students sending English-proficiency
data to community colleges have, on average, the lowest scores of any applicants, including those
international students applying to English-medium high schools.
While many international students apply to community colleges with an eye on keeping the costs of a
U.S. four-year degree manageable through transfer arrangements, there would also appear to be a
subset that sees the community college route as a more expedient and affordable way into the U.S.
higher education system than expensive university- and third-party-run bridging or pathway
programs. After two years of study at a U.S. two-year college many undergraduate programs will
waive English testing requirements for transfer students.
As might be expected, the most selective institutions in the United States - as reported in 2013 by
US News & World Report - have among the most stringent English-language requirements. All but
MIT set their minimum iBT thresholds at 100 or higher and their IELTS thresholds at 7.0 or higher.
Most admissions departments infer on their websites that they generally like to see higher scores
than those set as their minimums.
Some of the least selective schools in the country - as reported in 2013 by US News & World Report
- have English-language admissions requirements set at a much lower level than their more selective
counterparts. The admissions requirements among the schools listed in the table above range from
52 on the iBT at the City University of New York - Medgar Evers campus, to 79 at the University of
Maryland, University College. These standards are broadly in line with those set by the community
colleges highlighted above.
Conclusion
With ever increasing numbers of students traveling to English speaking countries for higher studies,
and with a growing number of institutions of higher education in non-English speaking countries
offering English-taught programs, the question of linguistic preparedness has become central to the
admissions process.
Above we have highlighted the standards set by a range of different institution types in the United
States. The threshold scores vary quite widely by institution type and rigor of program, with the
most selective institutions generally requiring a score of at least 100 (out of 120) on the TOEFL iBT
examination, and the least selective setting admissions standards in the low 60s. Additional to
standardized testing, many institutions also have in-house testing requirements - typically conducted
prior to the commencement of freshman studies - to assess if supplementary English training is
required.
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http://wenr.wes.org/2014/10/testing-english-as-a-foreign-language-for-university-admissions/

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