TOEFL to Become Personalized Exam Based on Individual Requirements & Backgrounds

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) will soon be offered as a personalized test depending upon individual requirements and the test takers’ background to make the assessment as unbiased as possible. Rohit Sharma, Global Senior Vice President of Higher Education and Work Skills, ETS, informed. 

Officials' Take on TOEFL Changes

"The ideal future of assessment is to provide every individual with a personalized assessment based on their background, making it as unbiased as possible. For example, if someone with an Indian background takes the test, is it the same as someone with a German background? Statistically, there's no significant difference,” Sharma said. 

"However, it would be better if, when registering for the test, you could indicate your specific needs, like applying for a journalism program, and the test could adapt to assess higher-level writing skills, for instance," he explained further.

Personalized assessments will likely take about 24 to 36 months to be rolled out. 

Changes in TOEFL So Far in 2024

ETS made many improvements to TOEFL to provide test takers with the best possible experience in 2024. Among these were cutting the test's three-hour duration to less than two hours and letting candidates view the official score release date after the test.

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

AI Usage by TOEFL

ETS would be using AI for content generation and test security, especially for home editions. The tests will have different item types, such as sections focusing on comprehension, interpretation, and summarization.

"Depending on where students are lacking, we aim to provide specific feedback on these item types, allowing them to work on very specific areas of improvement," Sharma said.