British Council’s 2022-23 annual report is now available. I believe it covers the twelve months ending March 2023.

British Council delivered 1.8 million IELTS tests in this period, a 12 percent increase from the year ending March 2022. Compare that to IDP’s most recent annual report, which mentioned just a 1% increase in the volume of IELTS tests delivered (and, notably, a 5% decrease in testing revenue in India).

Remember that BC doesn’t do IELTS in India nowadays (they ceded that market after selling their interests there to IDP in 2021). It looks like ROW is a growth market for IELTS, while India is somewhat flat.

Now in preprint from Daniel Isbell and Nicholas Coney is an article examining how English Language Proficiency tests are used at 146 research-intensive universities in the USA.  It examines which tests are used for admissions, what cut scores are used (and they compare across tests), and how subscores are used in admissions decisions.

The authors learned that the TOEFL iBT, IELTS, Duolingo, and PTE-A tests are most widely accepted, and in that order.

A few fun bits:

  • The TOEFL iBT is accepted for unconditional undergraduate admission at 135 schools, the IELTS at 133 schools, the Duolingo at 110 schools and the PTE-A at 61 schools.  I suppose this will be a priority of the folks at Pearson in the years ahead.  Though the test has (I think) moved into the #2 spot worldwide in terms of test taker volume, they still have plenty of room for growth in this area.
  • For unconditional graduate general admissions, the numbers are a bit different. The TOEFL is accepted at 117 schools, the IELTS at 116, the DET at 62, and the PTE-A at 54.  Obviously both the Pearson and Duo folks may wish to prioritize this area.
  • I was very pleased to see that the TOEFL CBT, which ceased to exist in 2006 is still accepted for unconditional admission to 11 undergraduate programs and 10 graduate general programs.  The TOEFL PBT, which was discontinued in 2017, is even more popular.  I suppose ETS ought to prioritize communications with score users in the years ahead.
  • As I have noted in my “score requirement tracker” posts, Duolingo cut scores have not always kept pace with revisions to their score concordance tables.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. There is some really wonderful data here, so do check it out.

Note, of course, that the above figures may have changed since the time the data was gathered.

The folks behind the IELTS recently published a head-to-head comparison of the IELTS General and the new PTE Core, encouraging individuals on the journey to residence in Canada to opt for the former product.

The comparison is a very eloquent defense of their product, but it highlights some of the challenges that the so-called “legacy” test makers face when dealing with competition from newer tests.  Specifically, a lot of the purported benefits of the legacy tests may be considered somewhat antiquated by test-takers in 2024.

For instance, the article notes that the IELTS can be taken on paper if one prefers.  I’m really not sure that the paper option is a big selling point in 2024.  It later suggests that the IELTS is better because it doesn’t use any AI.  I’m not sure that is a big selling point in 2024, either as people really like AI nowadays.  There is also some stuff about the decades-long legacy of the IELTS, which test-takers probably don’t care about one bit.

The article concedes that the IELTS is 55 minutes longer than the PTE core, noting that the IELTS is  “a bit longer, but we promise, we’re worth it! – we test the skills you need to succeed so you can feel confident starting your new life in Canada.”  Maybe in the distant past people thought about the positive washback of their test prep, but I’m not sure they view tests through that particular lens nowadays.

On the other hand, there is some very valid stuff about how it can be distracting to speak into a room with many other test-takers present.  That really is something people worry a lot about.

Anyway.  Competition is very good for consumers.  I really do hope that work began on the next-gen IELTS and TOEFL tests at least a few years ago. I want them to appeal to young test-takers.  Despite my sometimes dismissive tone, I really don’t want those products to lose TOO MUCH market share to newer tests. That would be bad for consumers in the long run.

 

Wonderful new article (free to read) in “Educational Research and Evaluation” this week by Rachael Ruegg.  It examines the IELTS test and the in-house language test of a certain New Zealand university, and explores how well scores from those tests can predict academic success at the undergraduate level.  The article suggests that the predictive ability of reading, listening and speaking scores from both tests are equal.  But writing scores? Well, the author notes:  “IELTS writing scores demonstrated a non-significant negative effect on academic achievement, while EPT writing scores were strongly significantly predictive of academic achievement.”

Check out the article for a detailed comparison of the writing tasks on the IELTS and those on the in-house test.  The author suggests that the in-house test requires writing that is more challenging and requires more critical thinking.  They note:

“In the EPT writing test, both tasks require longer and more complex writing than the IELTS versions. This may contribute to their performance in university study, which usually involves producing written assignments that are significantly longer than the IELTS minimum length of 250 words (for the essay task) or 150 words (for the data writing task). Rather than specifying a word limit, students who sit the EPT writing tests are encouraged to write as much as they can within a 45-minute time frame for each essay, but with an emphasis on quality over quantity.”

The author suggests that the IELTS could be improved by increasing the length of its writing section:

“Suggested changes to the IELTS academic writing test include extending the time allowed and required length of both writing tasks, requiring greater complexity in written texts and demonstration of critical thinking skills in English, all of which are likely to provide more robust evidence of sufficient language proficiency for university study.”

That’s quite a suggestion in a world where English proficiency tests seem to be going in the opposite direction – embracing shorter and shorter writing tasks.

I’m reminded of how many international students at Columbia University are required to take a two-hour writing test before their studies begin (on top of the university’s TOEFL/IELTS/DET requirement). Someone ought to study the usefulness of that test.

IDP Education has released its fiscal results for the half-year ending December 31, 2023. The report indicates that the IELTS was taken 902,000 times in those six months, a drop of 12 percent compared to the same period last year. The report indicates that this drop was due to lower test volumes in India. I’ve written in this space about how IDP faces stiff competition from Pearson in that market. Interestingly, the report indicates that outside of India the number of tests administered actually increased by 17 percent.  Good lord, the drop in India must have been pretty big if the overall volume declined even though sittings in the rest of the world increased by a huge amount.

Investors will be happy to know that revenue from student placement is way, way up. That is due in part to a 56 percent increase in Canadian placements.

IDP’s share price jumped about 15% on the release of the report, but those gains were all wiped out within 48 hours.  Perhaps some of the early buyers weren’t aware of recent changes to the business of international education.

(Note that the above figure does not include IELTS tests taken via the British Council)

The Indian Express reports that new Canadian immigration rules will likely mean the end of the so-called “IELTS Wedding.”

When I summarized the changes a few days ago I didn’t even mention that spouses of most students will no longer be eligible for an open work permit in Canada. I guess that change is more meaningful than I earlier thought.

As regular readers know, a play about studying for the TOEFL won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2023. Perhaps we can expect a romantic comedy about the IELTS in the years ahead.

According to this report, the IELTS test was taken “more than 4 million” times in 2023.

Not sure how that figure is broken down between IDP and the British Council, but IDP’s most recent fiscal report says that they delivered 1.9 million IELTS tests for the year ending June 2023. British Council’s most recent corporate report says that they delivered 1.6 million tests for the 2021-22 fiscal year, but they have since ceded their Indian operations to IDP.

How does this figure compare to the past? I found a press release from 2018 saying that the IELTS was taken 3.5 million times that year.How does this figure compare to other tests? ETS boss Amit Sevak recently noted on a podcast that the TOEFL is taken about a million times a year. Meanwhile, the PTE was taken about 600,000 times in the first six months of 2023, according to Pearson’s most recent figures. Finally, I’ve estimated that the Duolingo English Test was taken about 650,000 times for the year ending Q3 of 2023… but that’s just an educated guess.

As promised, here are the prices for English tests in China:

  • IELTS: 2170 RMB ($303 USD)
  • TOEFL: 2100 RMB ($294 USD)
  • PTE: $310 USD

A few things are worth noting:

  1. Per Chinese law, the IELTS and TOEFL tests are administered in China via partnerships between their owners and China’s National Education Examinations Authority (NEEA). This inserts an extra level of bureaucracy into the whole process. This means that test-takers register for the tests via the NEEA website, get their scores via the same website, and pay the test fee directly to the NEEA. Test-takers are subject to the NEEA’s privacy policies. Moreover, at-home testing in China requires a clunky workaround. The NEEA also keeps some (a lot?) of the test fees, but I guess that’s the cost of doing business in China.

  2. Many people view this partnership as the reason test fees are so high in China. As you can see, the cost of taking a TOEFL or IELTS test in China is way above the worldwide average (which is close to $230 USD). On the flip side, fees are set in RMB, so Chinese test-takers are protected against the slow and steady rise in value of the USD. When I started tracking prices a few years ago China was the most expensive place in the world to take the TOEFL. I think it is the ninth most expensive now.

  3. It seems like Pearson administers its tests on its own. I’ve always wondered how that is possible. The NEEA handles the whole registration process for all the major tests in China – the TOEFL, the IELTS, the GRE, the GMAT, the LSAT. Even the CAEL. Am I missing something here?

  4. Students looking for a good deal in China might try the CAEL, which is fixed at 1920 RMB (267 USD).

Which standardized English test is the most affordable?  Well, the Duolingo English Test is $59 and that’s the best deal (and probably always will be).  But what if you are locked into the IELTS, TOEFL and PTE tests?  Which one of those is the best deal? It seems that the PTE is the cheapest test.

To answer this question, I compared the prices in ten countries which send a lot of traffic to this website.  Note that I omitted Iran, China, Turkey and Russia for various reasons.

United States

This one is hard to track since sales tax is usually added to the price, and the cost of the IELTS differs from place to place.  But, basically, the prices seem to be:

  • IELTS: $280 (taxes included)
  • PTE: $235 +tax
  • TOEFL: $255 +tax

India

  • IELTS: $195
  • PTE: $191
  • TOEFL: $205

South Korea

  • IELTS: $220
  • PTE: $199
  • TOEFL: $220

Japan

  • IELTS: $193
  • PTE: $230
  • TOEFL: $245

Taiwan

  • IELTS: $240
  • PTE: $240
  • TOEFL: $245

Germany

  • IELTS: $273
  • PTE: $250
  • TOEFL: $265

France

  • IELTS: $277
  • PTE: $265
  • TOEFL: $270

Brazil

  • IELTS: $245
  • PTE: $225
  • TOEFL: $240

Indonesia

  • IELTS: $204
  • PTE: $200
  • TOEFL: $210

Mexico

  • IELTS: $239
  • PTE: $225
  • TOEFL: $250

Armenia

  • IELTS: $248
  • PTE: $210
  • TOEFL: $235

 

Average of the above countries (not counting the USA)

  • IELTS: $233
  • PTE: $223
  • TOEFL: $238

As I mentioned here a few days ago, it looks like ETS is updating its TOEFL/IELTS concordance tables. For this reason, there is currently a sweet offer for test-takers based in the USA and Australia.

Individuals who have taken both the TOEFL and IELTS within the last six months (and within three months of each other) may be eligible to receive a $100 Amazon gift card after sharing their score reports.

Those who have taken the IELTS only may be eligible to receive a $100 gift card plus a voucher to take the TOEFL for free.

Note that all tests must be taken at a test center, not at home.  

Details here for people in America.  And here for people in Australia.

Australian authorities have just released their new “Migration Strategy.” Notably, the IELTS requirement for student visas will increase to 6.0 (from 5.5). The IELTS requirement for a temporary graduate visa will be hiked to 6.5 (from 6.0). Score requirements for other tests are not mentioned in the document. These changes will go into effect “in early 2024.”

Applicants will also be required to pass something called a “genuine student test.” Exactly what that means has not been revealed.

More here after I dig through the document.