My most recent “picture of the week” over on Substack was a shelf of test prep books at the Alderney Gate branch of the Halifax Public Library. A fun way to do some boots-on-the-ground research into testing trends is to see what test prep books are checked out of your local library.
For instance, right now all six copies of IELTS 18 (General Training) are checked out of Halifax’s library system, with a waiting list of 15 holds. Four out of five copies of IELTS 18 (Academic) are checked out.
Meanwhile, over on the left coast all 22 copies of IELTS 18 (General Training) are checked out of the Vancouver Public Library system, with a waiting list 7 holds deep. Twenty-two out of twenty-four copies of the Academic version are checked out.
As IDP Education has indicated a few times in recent weeks, on-shore testing in Canada is a pretty big deal nowadays. That’s partially because of new testing requirements for PGWP applicants that came into force back in November.
Interestingly, there seems to be less demand for IELTS 19. The new cover design might have some people thinking it is a third-party product.
