TOEFL to Now Be a 2-hour Exam; Shorter Reading Section Part of New Changes

Educational Testing Services (ETS) has announced that starting July 26, 2023, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) iBT® will only be a 2-hour examination instead of the present 3-hour. However, the TOEFL iBT® score scale will remain the same. Besides the shorter duration, candidates can now view the dates for the official release of scores upon exam completion as part of the new changes. 

Per the official statement released by ETS, ”A shortened TOEFL iBT test for administrations beginning July 26, 2023. The test will now take less than two hours to complete — previously three hours.” 

“Test takers will see their official score release date upon completion of the test, in addition to receiving real-time notification of changes to their score status,” the statement added. 

Indian test takers can anticipate the following

• A shorter Reading section.
• Writing for an Academic Discussion task to replace the Independent Writing task. 
• The removal of all unscored test questions.
• An exclusive customer service center for Indian candidates will be in place, which will be operating 12 hours a day all week to assist them. 
• Also, candidates would be able to leverage local payment options in the coming weeks.

“ETS is driving the future of assessment through product innovations across education and learning, and TOEFL is core to that effort. TOEFL has been an industry standard for nearly six decades, and these enhancements further underscore its position. Most importantly, these enhancements were developed through the lens of our customers and stakeholders,” per Amit Sevak, CEO of ETS.

How to Enroll for the Shorter Test?

Test takers who have already registered for the exam can move up their test date before these changes take effect or reschedule their test date for free if they want to experience these new advancements. 

Until April 30, 2023, the free reschedule option can be requested via their TOEFL account. The TOEFL official website also offers updated versions of the exam Free Practice Test and TOEFL iBT Practice Sets. Additional paid and free test preparation alternatives will be updated in the upcoming weeks.