ETS Announces Big Changes for the TOEFL iBT

Hot on the heels of Pearson’s announcement of the upcoming “Pearson English Express Test (see last issue) ETS has announced major updates to the TOEFL iBT that will roll out over the next few months. Noteworthy changes include:

1. Starting January of next year the reading and listening sections of the test will be adaptive.

2. Test content will be adjusted in some fashion. According to ETS, “traditional content will be supplemented with modern, equitable topics.” This will also happen in January 2026, I assume.

3. In addition to the traditional 1-120 TOEFL scoring scale, a 1-6 banded scale will be included on score reports. This will line up with the CEFR.

Beyond changes to test content, a few other things have also been announced:

1. Scores will be available in 72 hours.

2. New preparation resources will be made available.

3. Test centers worldwide will be given new headphones.

Changes to the at-home experience are also mentioned in the announcement, but these are things I’ve written about already: new ID verification, in-house proctoring and simplified registration.

This is the third major revision to the test since 2019. The fourth if you count the launch of the TOEFL Essentials test. Will this be the one that sticks? Perhaps.

Check out the press release for all of the details. I don’t know any more than is publically available, but I’ll be gathering with some people in the test prep space to discuss the changes tomorrow on Zoom. All are welcome to take part.

IDP Shares Tumble & More on IDP IELTS China and the HOELT

IDP Education’s share price plummeted 48% today after a disappointing update from the testing and student placement firm. Shares are down 66% for the year, so far. They are currently trading at $3.88, which is the lowest they’ve been since December of 2016

According to the update, in FY2025 student placement volumes are expected to decrease 28 to 30 percent compared to FY2024. Testing volumes (IELTS) are expected to decrease 18 to 20 percent.

The update notes that IDP “has a focused roadmap of digital and AI enabled product development across Student Placement and Language Testing that will underpin long-term volume and revenue growth, margin expansion and shareholder returns.”

On a call with investors, a few noteworthy topics were raised.

Regarding China, IDP noted: “We continue to progress our entry of IDP IELTS into China, are confident in the long term business case, continue to work constructively with the Chinese government and will update the market as appropriate as we continue to work towards our full IELTS opening in China.”

When pushed for a date when testing might begin, IDP didn’t provide one. They noted that the government there has taken an “encouraging view” of IDP’s entry into the country, but that the regulatory process has “slowed.”

Regarding bright spots for IELTS, on-shore testing in Canada was identified (due to testing for PR) as well as increased domestic usage in Asia (probably Vietnam, though it was not specifically named).

Regarding the HOELT test, it was indicated that the IELTS partners will apply for the tender as a partnership (rather than, say, individually). It was also confirmed that the HOELT will only be for work and migration visas (not student visas). The current concession, though, has been extended for another 12 months.

Changes to the Duolingo English Test Speaking Section

Starting in July, the Duolingo English Test will include a new speaking task that seems like an attempt to simulate a back-and-forth conversation. In this task, test takers will receive a series of short questions on a given topic followed by a series of short questions on some other topic. They must quickly respond to each question.

Interested parties can demo the new task by taking the free practice test via the DET website. When I took the test, I received four questions about staying focused at work and four about family and growing up. I was given six seconds to prepare each response and 35 seconds to speak each time, so quick thinking was mandatory. I suppose this task is a good measure of one’s ability to produce spoken English fairly spontaneously. Note that a few people have reported getting just three questions about each topic.

I suppose there is a discussion to be had about how regular test revisions reduce the impact of cramming and test prep strategies on scores in general. Perhaps this will be a feature of more tests, as we move forward. I would love to see it as part of the HOELT, for one.

A new article from The Koala News references this task. The article includes a link to an information session you can sign up for to learn more.

NABP Lowers TOEFL Requirement for Pharmacists

The NABP has adjusted the TOEFL section scores that foreign pharmacy graduates must submit to get licensed in the USA (that is, to get their FPGEC certification). The required reading, speaking and writing scores have been lowered. The required listening score has been increased.

The old requirements are:

Reading 22, Listening 21, Speaking 26, Writing 24

The new requirements (starting October 25 of this year) are:

Reading 21, Listening 22, Speaking 25, Writing 22

Though this may not look like a big deal to most readers, longtime test prep folks will immediately recognize the significance of the new speaking requirement. For years, foreign-trained pharmacists have spent an enormous amount of time, energy and money to reach the elusive 26-point speaking score. Indeed, “TOEFL Speaking 26” has become an enduring motto for test prep firms, and a fixation of the SEO firms which service them. Many people in the world of TOEFL prep work almost exclusively with pharmacists. Without a doubt, this change will have a noticeable impact on the overall spend on TOEFL test prep.

The change may also have a slight (but, again, noticeable) impact on the number of times the TOEFL itself is taken. Over the years I’ve interacted with dozens (hundreds?) of foreign trained pharmacists who have taken the test 30+ times, all in pursuit of that magical 26-point score. This is a test taker population full of people who take the TOEFL week after week after week… sometimes for more than a year. Twenty-five points is often achievable. But 26 points? For this group that’s a whole different ball game.

Also note that this is one of ETS’s final and most enduring monopolies; TOEFL is the only test which foreign pharmacy graduates can use to meet their language requirement.

Who Takes What in Canada - A Postscript

A recent article in the Waterloo Region Record has some stats that serve as a good postscript for my article about what English tests students use for admission to Canadian schools (and, more importantly, which schools testing fans ought to be paying attention to).

It reports that in Q1 of 2025, Conestoga was issued 410 study permits. That’s a decline of 95% since Q1 of 2023, when they were issued 8550 study permits.

Despite the reduction, Conestoga remains the number one recipient of study permits (tied with the University of Toronto). Here’s the top 9 for Q1 2025:

• Conestoga College

• University of Toronto

• Seneca College

• Humber College

• University of Niagara Falls

• Sheridan College

• Fanshawe College

• University of British Columbia

• Centennial College

So, ya know, if you are into the business of English testing you shouldn’t just follow the well respected Canadian schools. You should also follow the schools that are not so well respected. Indeed, you could even pay more attention to those schools.

ETS Seeks Intelligence

The Educational Testing Service is seeking to hire a Senior Manager for Competitive Intelligence. The manager will be responsible for “monitoring, analyzing, and reporting on industry, market, and competitor developments and the identification and evaluation of new business opportunities.” They will also “provide insights on competitor strategies, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and strategic plans.”

Meanwhile, they’ll “conduct primary and secondary research [and] gather and analyze industry, market and competitor intelligence” and “build and maintain an active network of internal and external intelligence sources.”

I look forward to the winning candidate hitting me up an unpaid consultation.

All kidding aside, my recommendation for said individual is to keep in touch with test takers. And in a meaningful way that goes beyond focus groups and post-test questionnaires. They are the ones who drive industry trends and they are the ones who are at the root of your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.

iTEP Launches Quarterly Newsletter

iTEP International has just launched a quarterly newsletter. You can subscribe to it here if you want to keep on top of what the folks at iTEP are up to. The iTEP is a test I hope to learn more about this year. The team over there has been doing their thing for a couple of decades and have amassed a decent number of accepting institutions and partners over the years. I even stumbled upon one of their test center partners in Seoul last year.

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