TOEFL- Scoring Patterns
TEOFL (Test Of English as a Foreign Language) is an English language assessment of individuals who want to enroll to an English speaking university. These tests are taken by as many as 2 million people per year globally.
The
scoring patterns
The Test of English as a Foreign
Language exam has four sections namely; the reading section, the listening
section, the writing section and the speaking section. All these sections of
the exam are worth exactly the same marks in the exam. The Test is scored on a
scale of 0 to 120. Zero is the lowest score with 120 being the highest possible
mark.
The TEOFL scoring patterns are different
from other tests that use a percent correct score. Rather, TEOFL uses their own
scoring system. The TEOFL scoring system uses 120 as a maximum score. Each of
the four sections all have an equal worth of 30 points. Unlike most exams, the
score in each of the individual sections is not considered individually. Rather,
the total score out of the maximum 120 is what is considered as important.
The TEOFL has a pretty complex system
where giving wrong answers will result in you losing some points, a form of
‘negative marking’ which penalizes for failure. It is a standardized test and,
unlike other tests, the number of questions you get correct will not correspond
with your final score because standardized tests, unlike regular tests, are
“equated”.
TEOFL markers try as much as possible to
make it as fair as possible hence the notion that using a percentage correct
score would be very unfair. Some people might get a relatively harder test than
other students so using the same score to grade the test scores is also very
difficult. The TEOFL test is not only based on right and wrong answers. Rather,
it takes the overall performance of the candidates in all the aspects of the
test, all four of them. This means people who get relatively easier reading
passages are comparable with those that get passages that are quite harder.
The board that controls the TOEFL test,
the ETS, does not share its official grading and equating system. Despite all
this secrecy regarding their grading and the equating system, it seems they go
all out to ensure that it is as fair as possible and they have managed to
maintain that status quo for a very long time.
The TOEFL does not have passing grades.
Rather, the minimum score you should attain is decided by the institution or
university you want to enroll into. Depending on the institution, your pass
mark might be good enough or below par. Most undergraduate degrees require a
TOEFL score between 60 and 70. There are Ivy League institutions, however, that
require a much higher score which can be as high as 100. These institutions
require people that have learned enough to have really advanced and fluently conversational
English.
It is very important to ensure that you
know beforehand the required score for your desired institution and program you
want to enroll into. This will help you to establish how much effort you need
to put into the exam and how well you must prepare.
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