Michael Goodine's Blog, page 35

New TOEFL Registration System!

A new TOEFL registration system is being rolled out. You might be able to see it now. Or you might not be able to. In any case, you can check out some screenshots which I’ve attached. I joked a few months ago about how booking an English test sometimes feels like booking an airplane ticket. […]

Additional DET Security

Here’s an interesting new Duolingo English Test thing. Some test takers are now required to use their phone as a second camera while taking the test. After scanning a QR code on the DET desktop app, the test taker must prop their phone against an object on their desk so that the camera can capture […]

TOEFL’s Potential in India

I saw this quote from TOEFL head Omar Chihane in Education Times the other day: “The percentage of TOEFL test takers in India increased from 5.83% in 2021 to 7.77% in 2022.” That number is lower than expected. Going by Amit Sevak’s earlier statement that the TOEFL is taken by “almost a million” people per […]

A Made in India English Test?

I was quoted in this “Inside Higher Ed” article about lobbying to create a made-in-India English test. As I said, “it won’t be easy.” And: “it will be very slow-going at first to convince more than a handful of schools to accept a new test. It will be even harder to get governments to accept […]

TOEFL Test and Score Data for 2023

TOEFL Test and Score Data for 2023 is now available.  The overall mean score was 87 points.  That’s down from 88 points in 2022.  I’m glad that changes to the test format do not seem to have had a major impact on scores. Here are the mean scores for each section (change vs last year): […]

Wheebox Proctoring TOEFL?

Individuals on social media have recently reported having their at-home TOEFL tests proctored by Wheebox rather than ProctorU. These instances seem to be limited to tests scheduled after August 5. Wheebox is a subsidiary of ETS (acquired in 2023) based in India. As regular readers know, most of ETS’s at-home tests are currently proctored by […]

More on Score Cancellations Due to Jagged Profiles

I returned from vacation to find – what else – a few more complaints about the TOEFL Test.  I’ve attached some screenshots.  I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but I think this is worth paying attention to. These reports, though shared on different platforms, seem to be about the same […]

Duolingo Q2 2024 Financials!

Duolingo has just reported its financials for the second quarter of 2024. Revenue for the Duolingo English Test was 10.7 million dollars, up from 9.8 million in Q2 of 2023.  Note that the price of the test increased from $59 to $65 in this time frame. If we divide the revenue by the per-test cost, […]

TOEIC Cheating in Korea

A fellow in Korea was sentenced to three years in jail for helping people cheat on the TOEIC. His scheme involved taking pictures of his answers during the break following the listening section and sending them out to his clients from a bathroom stall. It is more involved than that, but it involves a very […]

Faster IELTS Results

The IELTS partnership is picking up the pace! According to a new press release, people who take that test on a computer can now “usually” get their results in 1-2 days. That’s impressive for a test that is graded wholly by humans. For the record, Pearson says that PTE scores “typically” arrive within two days. […]