In recent weeks, some people have been prompted to enter their ID number in order to download their TOEFL score report PDF.  They get a screen that looks like this:

The user is prompted to “Enter your ID information to complete your request and ensure your data stays secure.”  I can’t explain it.  Apparently entering the information does not make it possible to download the PDF right away.  Instead, they must enter the information and then wait a few hours.  After that, the download button will appear and work as it is supposed to.

Anyway, this is really weird.  Leave a comment if you are experiencing it, and maybe let me know what country you are in.

Students often ask how to download their TOEFL score report.  Just remember that you have to wait one or two extra days to download the PDF file of your score report.  For instance, if you get your TOEFL scores on January 10, you have to wait until January 11 or January 12 to download the PDF.

Meanwhile, if you have already waited, here is how to get the score report:

1.  Log in to your account on the ETS website.
2.  Click “View your scores” 
3. Click “Print/Download PDF Format.”

The screenshots show this:

If you still can’t see the download link, try accessing your TOEFL account on mobile.  That sometimes solves the problem of the download PDF link totally disappearing. 

Quite a lot of reports on social media lately about TOEFL score reports without pictures.  That’s weird.  They are supposed to have pictures.  But apparently a few things are worth keeping in mind:

• Apparently, your score is valid, even if you don’t have a picture.
• Universities generally don’t care about the picture.
• If you reach out to TOEFL customer support they might be able to locate the picture and add it to your test results. If not, you might be offered a free re-test.

Let me know if you’ve been affected by this.  I assume it mostly impacts people who take the test at home.

Here are two images that have inspired me to write, again, about bad UX in English testing.  First up is a section of the monthly “Search Performance” that Google sends me.  It indicates that the top growing search query sending traffic to my site in November was “score not available TOEFL.”  The second is a Reddit post from a guy who is “a bit freaking out” because his TOEFL score is “not available.”

So where’s the bad UX?   Well…

When a test taker has just completed the at-home TOEFL and logs in to their account to check their scores, they’ll probably see a message like “status – checked in.”  That’s a bit weird, since they are no longer checked in.  But whatever.

A few days after that, when they log in the status will be updated to something like “Score Pending.”  This is useful.  “Pending” might not be the best verb for the audience at hand, but it makes sense.

A few days after that, when they log in, the status will have switched to “Score Not Available.”  This is when some test takers start to panic.  Little do they realize that this status is the normal interregnum state between “score pending” and the actual reporting of scores.

Good UX might involve eliminating all three statuses, and replacing them with something concise like “Scores will be available December 7, 2025.”  Then again, I’m just a guy on the Internet who went to a test optional university.  Maybe I’m missing something here.

A few additional notes:

1. This has been the state of things since the introduction of the at-home TOEFL in early 2020.
2. My three-year old blog post about this topic was viewed 1461 times in November.  Semi-related blog posts scooped up a few hundred additional views.  If my obscure WordPress blog attracted more than 1500 perplexed test takers in a single month, I shudder to imagine the time ETS spends on customer support contacts re: this issue.
3. The Internet horde, which never fails to amuse, discovered long ago that if they right-click and use “inspect element” on a certain part of the “not available” box they can sometimes see what looks to be their scores in some sort of json structure before the official delivery from ETS.
4. Another frequent question is “how do I download the PDF of my score report?!”. For that, test takers must wait an additional 24-48 hours after the scores are first reported. Only then does the download link appear in their account.

Here’s the PDF version of my TOEFL score report. Interestingly, the PDF file was available the same day my scores were. Traditionally, there has been a 24-48 hour delay on the PDF file.

The overall score for my test was 119 out of 120 points. Let me know if you have any questions about how I responded to the speaking and writing tasks.  And, as always, I’m available for tutoring if you need me.

When I return home in a few weeks I’ll share the paper version. I believe that will be mailed from the hub in Seoul.

TOEFL test-takers now receive much more detailed score reports than before. In addition to their scaled reading and listening scores, they’ll see that they are either “developing” or “demonstrating” in several categories of questions. They’ll get the same sort of feedback for “delivery,” “language use” and “topic development” for each of the four speaking tasks and for “grammar,” “usage,” “mechanics” and “organization and development” for the two writing tasks.

This data will be provided for tests taken moving forward (and retroactively for tests taken after October 28). I’ll see if I can get some screenshots in the next day or two.

Note that all of this is provided via the test-taker’s account on the ETS website. The PDF score report remains unchanged.

I’ve been advocating for this sort of change since the last time the score reports were changed (back in 2019), so I’m happy today. Actually, I wrote a few days ago about my displeasure with the movement toward test scores that are somewhat opaque. I think it is wonderful that TOEFL test-takers will now have a better idea of where their scores have come from and how the various items on the test have impacted their final results.

I read on the ETS Naver blog that express shipping of TOEFL score reports has been expanded to countries across Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. For a fee of $25, test-takers can get their paper score report in 2-3 days (more or less) with some kind of tracking. Reports sent via the regular mail are still free.  This option can be selected during the registration process.

Note that for reports requested after the test is completed, the total fee is $45 for express mail and $20 for regular mail.

This is really great news because, inexplicably, a lot of people still need official paper score reports (and they generally need ’em RIGHT NOW). I don’t understand why that is the case in 2023, but the issue is raised quite often by test-takers I communicate with. Moreover, it seems like many young people nowadays don’t really grasp how the “regular mail” works and get frustrated when told that their score reports will arrive whenever their local letter carrier decides to swing by their place.

 Students often ask me how long it takes for score recipients to get their TOEFL scores.  The answer is that it takes eleven days for recipients to get the scores. You can find this information buried deep in the TOEFL Bulletin for 2023.  Here ya go:

“Official score reports for the TOEFL iBT test will be sent to your designated recipients within 11 business days after your test (15 days for the TOEFL iBT Paper Edition). It could be sooner, depending on what score delivery method each specific institution uses. “

The scores are sent electronically, so this means the institutions should have them eleven days after you take the test.  ETS does not provide confirmation that the scores have been properly received, but you can call the admissions department of your school to confirm if necessary.

Of course if you have chosen paper score reports this could take a lot longer.  ETS says:

However, if we mail the score report, keep in mind that ETS has no control over mail delivery to various locations around the world. Allow another 7–10 days for mail delivery in the U.S., and 4–6 weeks for mail delivery to other locations. For information specific to your postal system, contact your post office for an estimated arrival time for mail from the U.S.

How Long Until Scores Appear in your ETS Account

In case you are wondering, scores appear in your ETS account 4-8 days after you take the test.  The PDF score report can be downloaded two days after that.

Students often ask why their TOEFL appointment status is “checked in” or “scheduled” after they take the test.

I don’t know why this happens.  It is not a sign of problems, though.  Most of the time the score is reported as scheduled.  Don’t worry about it.