The second “Office Hours” chat about the upcoming TOEFL changes was a big success. About 75 interested test-prep folks showed up, and most stuck around for the whole hour. I’ll try my best to host a third one once the practice tests have been published. Probably July 16.
A few notes from the community:
- Many attendees expressed a desire for more clarity on how adaptive testing will work on the TOEFL. I sense that people want assurances that this change will be fair to students and comprehensible to people preparing them for the test. ETS should spend some time on this issue as the launch date approaches.
- Many people are still wondering if the revised TOEFL will contain integrated speaking and writing tasks. In some ways, integrated tasks are the TOEFL’s bread-and-butter, setting it apart from competing products. But on the other hand, eliminating them (or at least their current incarnations) could create a faster, cheaper and more streamlined test form.
- My friend Pamela Sharpe, who has been preparing students for the TOEFL since 1970, was in attendance. I asked her what she thinks the biggest revision to the TOEFL has been to date. Her response? Maybe this one.
- Most people are pretty enthusiastic about the new score scale. Few believe there is a meaningful difference between a kid with a score of 102/120 and a kid with a score of 104/120.
- Many people are wondering if the free practice tests from ETS will be adaptive. While the TOEFL Essentials test is adaptive, the practice tests provided by ETS are not.
- Some concerns regarding equity in test prep were raised. Right now, no-budget test takers can wander down to their local library and get copies of the official books to prepare for the test. That will no longer be the case in January, when test takers will be more dependent on paid prep products, which can be costly.
- Likewise, there were a few concerns about the accuracy of the practice tests set to be released next month. Older teachers remember how flawed some material was when the TOEFL iBT launched in 2005. This could impact our plans to prepare for the revisions in a timely manner.
- A few attendees expressed hope that the test will include global English accents.
- We talked about whether the TOEFL might become a regularly adjusted test, like the DET. Some attendees figure this would be great for students. Others were not so enthusiastic.
- We talked a lot about TOEFL Essentials and TOEIC and how early reports suggest that this test will share item types with those tests. Like it or not, people are starting to believe that this is a glammed-up TOEFL Essentials test. Mostly because of the way it was presented to test prep firms in China a few weeks ago. If ETS views this sentiment as problematic, they ought to nip it in the bud ASAP.