Project

TOEFL Users’ Perceptions, Beliefs, and Attitudes Toward the TOEFL iBT as a Measure of Academic Language Ability in the U.S.

The Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test™ (TOEFL iBT) presents test takers with integrated tasks that require the application of multiple skills to produce a response. These test items are intended to simulate the tasks required of students in English-medium universities. However, because the iBT has been in use for only a short time, little research has been conducted to determine whether this intention is borne out in test users’ self-reported beliefs. This study addressed that gap by gathering data from university students at the undergraduate and graduate levels, teachers, and administrators in the United States and abroad to elicit their beliefs about the iBT as a measure of academic language ability in different contexts.

About the Project

Funder: Educational Testing Service
June 2008 – June 2010