Over on LinkedIn, TOEFL Executive Director Srikant Gopal went on the offensive, with an article challenging other English tests.
What stood out to me is that this was the first time I’ve seen anyone from ETS utter the words “Duolingo English Test”. And the article didn’t pull any punches:
“Despite having “academic” in their name, these tests have only partial academic English content (50% or lower). The most recent entrant, the Duolingo® English Test, is effectively a test of rudimentary English knowledge and does not even adequately measure English proficiency, let alone the ability of a student to communicate and succeed in a university setting.”
Honestly, though, it must be a bit frustrating for ETS. The TOEFL is backed by a book-length account of its validity, while the validity case for the DET seems to consist of a few short articles. Despite that, though, the DET has become very popular since the beginning of the year.
I am a fan of the DET, and you can find a supportive comment I made back in March of 2019 on YouTube. But, to be honest, I think a lot of universities are rushing headfirst to support a test that might not be ready for high-stakes admissions.
What do you think?