Michael Goodine's Blog, page 36

GRE Coupon and Promotional Codes for 2024

  Here’s the GRE Coupon tracker!  I’ve also got a TOEFL coupon tracker. Update:  The code TAKE2 will probably get you a $60 discount.  I don’t know the validity period. Update:  The code CC25A or CC25T should get you a Rs.4777 discount (maybe more) in India.  I don’t know the validity period. Update:  Someone else […]

Pearson’s Half-Year Results

Pearson just posted interim results for the six months ending June 2024. I’m traveling right now and can’t provide a full write-up, but a few things ought to be quickly noted: PTE’s volume dropped to 546,000 for the 6 months, down 10% compared to the same period in 2023. Pearson predicts “flat to down” growth […]

TOEFL Registration Complaints

Here’s a gallery of recent social media complaints from people who are getting stuck on the “search service” screen when trying to register for the TOEFL test. I wrote about this weeks ago. I first read about it months ago. I’ve always been struck by how bugs like this are able to linger for weeks […]

Official TOEFL Vocabulary Book

There is now an official TOEFL Vocabulary book for the Japanese market. I’ll try to get a copy of this book (in addition to the official TOEFL Beginner’s Guide for the Indian market). It ships October 3. Details here.

Skills for English B2 Score Report

In case you are curious what a “Skills for English: SELT” Test Report Form looks like, here’s mine. A couple of points are worth mentioning: My results arrived in about 48 hours. Quick! While “Skills for English” is a pass/fail test for specific CEFR levels, the report indicates that I achieved B2 “with merit.” I […]

You Should Read More – Part 47

Continuing along with the Norton Library Podcast, this month I read Jane Austen’s “Emma.”  You can find the podcast episodes on Youtube.  I haven’t read a huge amount of Austen’s work, but since I enjoy the whole “comedy of manners” genre, she has always been on my to-read list.  Interestingly, this story of the “idle […]

DET Celebrates Ten Years

Ten years ago today, Duolingo launched a project called “Test Center.” Shortly thereafter, “Test Center” morphed into the Duolingo English Test.  That test is now taken more than 800,000 times per year.  That’s quite an accomplishment. Many people think of the DET as a fairly new product, but ten years is a long time. When […]

I Took the “Skills for English” B2 Test

As part of an ongoing mission to expand my knowledge of testing options in 2024, I took the B2 version of the Skills for English: SELT Test yesterday. While everything is still fresh in my mind, I’ll share a few thoughts.  Before I begin, I should mention that PSI gave me a voucher to take […]

TOEFL Official Beginner’s Guide

ETS will send a new “TOEFL Official Beginner’s Guide” to people who register for the TOEFL test in India. I’ll do my best to snag a copy. If anyone has an extra, you know how to reach me…

Florida Man Cheats on Test!

Via this week’s issue of “The Cheat Sheet” I learned about a cheating ring (well, three folks) in Florida that enabled at least 820 people to cheat on an at-home test for an insurance-selling license operated by Pearson. The cheating involved the same method that people have (allegedly) used to cheat on at-home English tests, […]