I’m scheduled to take the TOEFL iBT next week. Big thanks to my friends at ETS for providing a voucher. The test hasn’t changed since July of last year, and my test will be proctored by Meazure Learning/ProctorU, so I probably won’t have much to report post test. But do let me know if there is anything I should keep an eye out for.
A few things about the new registration process are worth noting, though. They are:
- Overall, registration is now quick and painless and periwinkle.
- Test takers should be advised that the opt-in box for a free paper score report is no longer part of the registration process. It must be accessed via the “test appointment details” link in the user account following the scheduling process. By default, the box is not selected.
- Express delivery by courier of paper score reports (for a fee) is no longer offered. But the TOEFL blog on Naver suggests that it will be available again in the future.
Some may wonder why anyone would want a paper score report. Most tests no longer even provide this service. However, for some reason there remains a significant demand for official paper TOEFL (and IELTS) score reports. Indeed, one of the most frequent questions on social media I see is “where the heck is my printed score report?!”
The suspension of express shipping is worth taking note of. Many test takers don’t realize that the free option mostly uses bog standard snail mail services from New Jersey (or a regional hub like Seoul)… which means that in many cases paper reports never reach their destination. Consider the many locales where regular home mail delivery is either unreliable or not present.
If asked, I would recommend eliminating the free option entirely and using the cost savings to make express delivery a bit more affordable (and to provide it at the same price both before and after completion of the test).
I would also recommend a redoubling of efforts to wean score users off of the use of printed reports.