6 Ways ETS Makes Marking the TOEFL iBT® Test Fair

A lot of professional bodies, agencies, universities, as well as numerous organisations in Australia greatly rely on the TOEFL iBT® Test scores to provide them with objective and consistent results when it comes to the English language abilities of the test takers. But what we would like to know is how they do that exactly, with so many applicants taking the same test all around the world?

How the test is structured

First, why don’t we have a brief review of how the test is structured. There are 4 sections that can be found in the TOEFL iBT test: 1.) Reading; 2.) Listening, 3.) Speaking, and 4.) Writing.

The test is taken using a computer at test centres that are secure. The test takers make use of a microphone for responses that are spoken verbally, and a headphone for responses from listening passages.

The first 2 sections, Reading and listening, consist of multiple choice questions which are automatically marked by the computer.

The third and fourth sections, which are the Speaking and Writing sections, are made with open-ended questions (or as they are also known in testing parlance, the ‘constructed response’ questions), which need test takers to speak out their answers to the questions into a microphone and type their essays using the keyboard of the computer.

There are 6 ways that ETS makes sure marking is always made fair, as enumerated below:

1. First and foremost, markings of tests are never done at test centres. They are all, instead, done through a centralised scoring network which puts into effect, and makes sure, that scoring standards are consistent to help ensure that the integrity and the security of the scores remain in the highest level.

2. For the questions that yield a constructed response, ETS uses both automated marking methods as well as human markers to get a complete, consistent, and accurate picture of the ability of the test taker. Although there certainly are advantages to using automated marking models, human markers are also needed so the effectiveness of the language response, as well as how appropriate its contents are, are measures.

3. The human markers in ETS go though an extensive and rigorous training. They need to pass a certification test, and then pass calibration tests that take place on a daily basis, to make sure markings remain consistently accurate. The markers are always monitored by the scoring leaders of ETS, and are also checked for each and every time they provide a score on a new test question.

4. A highly diverse pool of markers are used by ETS instead of those who are exclusive to the country of origin of the applicant. Worldwide responses are seen and heard by these markers on a daily basis.

5. Responses are anonymously scored by ETS markers so that scoring are kept objective and with high integrity.

6. The judgment of not just one markers but a number of them contribute to each of the test taker’s scores in the Speaking and Writing sections so that marking bias is kept to a minimum, if there is any at all, with anywhere from 3 to 6 markers checking on the Speaking items. For the Writing responses, 4 ratings are made.

You can rest easy knowing that your scores are in the hands of well-trained markers

Please visit https://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/scores/ if you would like to know more information about the TOEFL iBT scores.

Source: MigrationAlliance.com.au