The official TOEFL website now includes an FAQ! It’s a really wonderful thing to see. It contains a whole bunch of questions spread across seven categories. And it is searchable!
If anyone from ETS is reading this, I’d be happy to check my server logs to see what answers people search for most commonly on this website.
You know, I spent much of early 2021 suggesting how the TOEFL could be improved. At that time I wrote that ETS should:
“Provide a beautiful FAQ page that quickly answers the questions that are asked every day. This will not only improve test taker experience, but will reduce calls to your support number by a huge amount.”
As I’ve expressed to a few people in private conversation, I’m feeling pretty optimistic about the TOEFL nowadays. I felt little optimism back in 2021 when I published a handful of articles about how to improve the experience of people taking the TOEFL. It gives me some joy to see that two thirds of the things I suggested in 2021 have now been implemented. They include:
- Fix the Official Guide to the TOEFL.
- Implement a modern support system and FAQ.
- Provide more practice tests.
- Implement automated scoring in free practice tests.
- Rephrase word count recommendations.
- Be more transparent about automated scoring.
- Modernize the voucher system.
- Use website UX practices from 2021, not 2008.
- Make it possible to register for the test (and pay for it) in less than five minutes.
- Eliminate the TOEFL Search Service*.
The suggestions not currently implemented are the really challenging ones:
- Provide a free practice test that is different (almost) every time it is taken.
- Stop charging a fee to send score reports.
- Charge the same price for the home edition in every country.
- Get rid of the ‘cancel scores’ button at the end of the test.
- “Active. Noise. Canceling. Headphones.”
*I think the search service has been eliminated, but I could be wrong.