Upper Tribunal allows students appeal in ETS TOEIC fraud case

In most cases, the choice is clear. A student applying to a school learns which test the program requires. However, some programs or universities will accept scores from any of the international tests of English. Then, a student may choose which test to take.

Who Takes the TOEFL vs. the TOEIC
The TOEFL measures the test-taker's ability to function in an English-speaking academic environment. The target test-taker for the TOEFL is a candidate for higher education in an English-speaking country. The TOEIC, on the other hand, measures the ability to function in a general work environment. This test is used in nonacademic settings as a measure of the ability of a current or potential employee to communicate effectively in English in a variety of business settings and situations.

"For the TOEFL IBT, it's more challenging because I have to speak with a computer, basically, and I didn't get the meet the real person who talked with me. I remember there were twenty or thirty people in the room. The hardest part is the speaking test because when I was about to speak, and the person next to me also started to speak, then somehow I lost concentration because I could hear what she or he said during the speaking test."

Test Formats
The TOEFL is a four-section test that includes sections for reading, listening, speaking and writing. It is taken exclusively on the computer. The TOEIC is broken into two separate but complementary exams: the Reading and Listening Test, which is a paper-and-pencil test, and the Speaking and Writing Test, which is taken on a computer. The exams are broken up in this way so potential employers can choose to measure an employee's reading and listening or speaking and writing skills only, or all four language skills. The Reading and Listening Test will take about two-and-a-half hours to complete, and for the Speaking and Writing Test, the speaking section will last about 20 minutes, and the writing section will take 60 minutes to complete.

At the end of the workshop, the attendees got certified by the ETS as TOEIC Master Trainers. They will continue to train other teachers and contribute to improve the quality of TOEIC instructors in South East Asia.

In an email to the Independent, a Home Office spokesperson said: "The Government continues to tackle abuse of our immigration system and protect the reputation of our world class education institutions.

ETS designed the workshop in a way that allows discussions and high interactivity. The workshop also provides its attendees with the latest updates on the test, teaching tips, teachable strategies for achieving the best score, how to effectively integrate more activities into TOEIC test practice course, and recommendations on the most up-to-date and appropriate course materials.

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May to face inquiry over flimsy basis for student deportations
Following on from that investigation, Mrs May took the decision to revoke the sponsorship licences of around 60 educational institutions, and detain and remove tens of thousands of international students who had obtained the TOEIC certificate in the past.

"I decided to study harder and buy some books, even though they're expensive but since I wanted to get good scores… For me, books are much more effective than studying for instance, from samples on the Internet, because with the books I can go back and forth and take some notes."

Politics.co.uk says this was used to justify thousands of deportations as the Home Office claimed that everyone who had taken the TOEIC test conducted by ETS had committed fraud. The Financial Times reported that it is not clear how many people were deported, but more than 30,000 test scores were considered suspect.

A Home Office spokesperson told the Financial Times: "We are very disappointed by the decision and are awaiting a copy of the full determination to consider next steps including an appeal. For those who have any kind of inquiries regarding in which as well as the way to work with toeic score table, you'll be able to email us from our own web-site. It would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage."

Shortly after, in June 2014, Immigration Minister James Brokenshire made a statement to Parliament in which he said an investigation post-Panorama found evidence of 46,000 "invalid and questionable" tests.

"In the sporting world, a verdict of ‘no contest’ would have been appropriate at this juncture."
The tribunal also found there was no evidence from any English Testing Service (ETS) witness - the US firm behind the test which was contracted by the Home Office. The president said: "Almost remarkably, ETS provided no evidence, directly or indirectly, to this tribunal," further labelling the firm’s actions as "mildly astonishing."

"If you want to take any kind of test, make sure that you have enough time to prepare for it. I usually try to prepare myself at least two months prior to the test just to allow myself to get used to the test and to study for the test."

Test Scores
On the TOEFL iBT, the maximum possible score is 120 -- 30 points for each of the four sections. There is no "passing score" and colleges and universities will have their own requirements for admission, which test-takers can find information about through the admissions office. The TOEIC Reading and Listening test gives the test-taker a score of 10 to 990, which corresponds to bands in the Common European Framework measure of English proficiency. A test-taker will receive scores of zero to 200 for the Speaking and Writing Tests separately, again which corresponds to the CEF standards of English-language proficiency measurements.