I took the TOEFL iBT Home Edition a few days ago. Below are a few nitpicky comments I scribbled down right after I finished:
- To prepare, I used TOEFL TestReady. This was my first time to interact with that product as a test taker might. I like it a lot, but it desperately needs proper timers. The TOEFL, like most standardized tests, is partially a test of one’s time management skills. This should be reflected in preparation products. I’ll write much more about TestReady later on.
- I hope that technology renders room scans obsolete one day. They are a pain. I sense that developers might not use the same computers or have the same rooms as test takers and therefore might not realize just how much of a pain they are. The Duolingo English Test doesn’t make use of this measure, but seems to have replaced it with extremely strict gaze tracking… which is a frequent subject of test taker complaints on social media. But hope springs eternal.
- Test takers are instructed to state that they agree with the “terms and conditions” listed on the TOEFL website. I have been unable to locate them. Next time, I’ll ask the proctor for a link. How many test takers have actually been aware of what they are agreeing to?
- I was surprised to see that the test STILL includes a message telling test takers to put on their headset. Regular readers know that using a headset during the test is against the rules and will likely cause the test results to be invalidated. These instructions ought to be removed immediately.
- ETS should get rid of the microphone calibration meter thingie. My voice stayed in the “too quiet” range even when I spoke as loud as possible. Over the years, hundreds of test takers have reported the same. I knew to just forget about it and speak at a normal level during the test… but not everyone does. Many people respond by screaming their answers as loudly as possible, which is especially troublesome when it occurs at test centers. Surely the meter can be replaced with a calibration method that doesn’t provide any visible feedback.
- My test crashed one time, right after the first lecture played in the listening section. My proctor restarted it.
- I think I heard an Irish accent.
- One really starts to understand the whole “perceived difficulty” controversy when they sit down and take a bunch of tests. The TOEFL has always included a handful of so-called “Killer Questions” that cause even the most experienced test taker to go crosseyed. They give the test a reputation for toughness, even though you can get them all wrong and still perform at a C2 level.
- At 11:49 PM the day before the test, I received an email reminding me to add free score recipients by 10:00 PM the day before the test. Thanks, guys.
- I scored 29 in reading and 30 in listening. Which surprised me a bit, as I was really confident about my reading answers… but not confident at all about a few listening answers.
The next test for me? The PTE! Stay tuned!