Michael Goodine's Blog, page 11

Perfect (9.0) IELTS Writing Score Achieved!?

So one dude on Reddit claims to have achieved a perfect band score of 9.0 in the writing section of the IELTS academic test.  Interestingly, this achievement unlocked the following band descriptor, which according to Google has only appeared once before online… in a Vietnamese Facebook group.  Here it is: Test takers at this band […]

PIE Says Nice Thing

I am honored and amused to be named by The PIE as one of the “50 Voices of 2025.” Here’s the citation: “Michael Goodine is a writer and commentator on English language testing who has generated a cult following on social media, live chats and subscribers. Drawing from personal experience as an English teacher in […]

2026 TOEFL Timing Change

Official guides for the revised TOEFL have been adjusted slightly.  They originally noted that the reading and listening sections will take “about 18 to 27 minutes” to complete.  They now indicate that each section will take “about 27 minutes.” Perhaps someone flinched at the suggestion that the TOEFL iBT will turn into a 65 minute […]

The PIE Reports on TOEIC Cheating

The PIE has published an article on the ongoing TOEIC cheating scandal in Japan, placing it in the context of what’s going on in testing at large.  I was quoted a few times.  As regards this topic, I think a few things are worth mentioning: Some traditional test makers insist that in-person testing is more […]

TOEFL Chat – Tomorrow!

Just a reminder that this coming Wednesday I’ll host the third English Test “Office Hours” chat on Zoom.  Once again we’ll discuss the upcoming changes to the TOEFL iBT test.  The nice part is that this time we’ll have actual test forms to look at!  As always this is a meeting (not a webinar).  There […]

TOEFL and PTE: A Tale of Two Tests

I snagged the following images from a recent presentation about the PTE changes given by Jarrad Merlo.  One highlights the changes to the test structure, another the changes to scoring and one describes some strategies for the new “summarize group discussion” task. I’ve already gone over the changes so I won’t repeat myself.  But let […]

On Score Comparison Tables

The IELTS partners have published an item titled “Score comparison tables: Helpful shortcut or hidden risk for admissions?”.  The piece argues that score comparison tables can be useful but that “they don’t give admissions teams sufficient information to set language requirements” all by themselves.  Rather, score comparisons should be combined with “robust assessment research, band […]

Substack for July 3 to July 15

Here’s my latest roundup of news from the world of English testing.  Lots of fun stuff!

Local IELTS Test Center in Korea!

In local news, someone opened a British Council affiliated IELTS test center about 600 meters from my front door.  I think it has been here for a few years, hidden away on the 18th floor of an office building. I live in a very working class neighborhood right on the southern city limits of Seoul, […]

Australia DHA Test Changes Soon?

It dawns on me that new requirements from the Australian Department of Home Affairs will probably kick off around August 7.  That’s the date that the big PTE changes will take effect… changes which were partially (largely?) mandated by the DHA.  It will be nice to finally stop checking the DHA website for updates after […]