TOEFL iBT Exam – The TOEFL iBT is an English language proficiency test that is accepted by more than 13,000 universities and other institutions in over 160 countries.
The TOEFL iBT test scores are accepted for study, work and immigration purposes.
The TOEFL iBT exam has four sections – Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. The duration of the exam is under two hours; however, including a check-in time of around 30 minutes, the exam can extend to nearly 2.5 hours.
The validity of the TOEFL iBT scorecard is 2 years from the date of the exam.
The TOEFL iBT, along with the PTE Academic and IELTS exam, constitute the three most popular English language proficiency tests.
Table of Contents
TOEFL Exam Highlights
| TOEFL-iBT-Test-Content | Description |
| Full Form | Test of English as a Foreign Language |
| Conducting body | ETS (Educational Testing Service) |
| Exam description | TOEFL is an English-language proficiency test that is by more than 12,000 universities and other institutions in over 160 countries. |
| IELTS Exam Fee | INR 16,900 |
| Mode of exam | TOEFL iBT – Internet-based test, TOEFL Test on Paper, and TOEFL at Home test |
| Scoring | You’ll receive four scaled section scores and a total score. Each section has a score range of 0–30. These are added together for a total score of 0–120. Each skill has four or five proficiency levels, so where your score falls within that range tells you your proficiency for that skill. |
Why take the test?
- Accepted by 12,000+ institutions worldwide
- Test at home or a test center in your area
- Quicker Registration and Scheduling. A simpler registration and scheduling process, with local payment options available to select countries.
- Shorter Test. The total testing time is now less than 2 hours
- Instant Scores. View your unofficial Reading and Listening scores at the end of your test1.
- Faster Official Scores. Get your full, official scores as soon as 4–8 days after your test (11–13 business days for Paper Edition).
- Best Scores. Show your best overall test performance, which is the combination of your best section scores from the past 2 years.
- In-depth Score Reporting. In addition to simple scores, you get personalized performance feedback and deeper insights into your results.
- Free Practice Materials. You can prepare for test day with a full-length practice test, practice sets, and the TOEFL Go! ® app and more.
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TOEFL iBT Test Pattern
| Particulars | Description |
| Mode of exam | TOEFL iBT – Internet-based test, TOEFL Test on Paper and TOEFL at Home test |
| Duration | Four – Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. |
| Sections | Four – Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing. |
| Scoring | The TOEFL scorecard will have four scaled section scores and a total score. Each section has a score range of 0–30. These are added together for a total score of 0–120. Each skill will have four or five proficiency levels, with each level indicating a level of proficiency. |
TOEFL iBT Test Sections Overview
Use the table below to view the breakdown of each TOEFL iBT test section.
| Section | Estimated Timing | Questions/Tasks | Description |
| Reading | 35 minutes | 20 questions | Read passages and respond to questions. |
| Listening | 36 minutes | 28 questions | Answer questions about brief lectures or classroom discussions. |
| Speaking | 16 minutes | 4 tasks | Talk about a familiar topic and discuss material you read and heard. |
| Writing | 29 minutes | 2 tasks | Read a passage, listen to a recording, and type your response. State and support an opinion in an online classroom discussion. |
| TOTAL | The total test takes just under 2 hours to complete | – | But the candidate should plan for 2.5 hours, allowing 30 minutes for check in. |
Read official – TOEFL iBT Sections Overview
TOEFL iBT Test Content
TOEFL iBT – Section-wise tasks and syllabus
| Section | Description |
| Reading | The Reading section assesses how well you can read and understand materials used in an academic environment. It includes two reading passages, each approximately 700 words long, with 10 questions per passage. It should take about 35 minutes to complete the Reading section. Passages are excerpts from university-level textbooks that would be used in introductions to a topic. The passages cover a variety of subjects. All the information you need to answer the questions will be included in the passage, so even if you’re not familiar with the topic it shouldn’t be a problem. Further, there will be a glossary feature available to define words not commonly used, if you need it. |
| Listening | The TOEFL iBT Listening section is designed to measure your ability to understand conversations and lectures in English. It includes listening for: basic comprehension understanding the speaker’s attitude and degree of certainty connecting information Listening questions: You’ll hear lectures and conversations in this section. Both use campus-based language. 3 lectures, some with classroom discussion, each 3–5 minutes; 6 questions per lecture 2 conversations, each 3 minutes; 5 questions per conversation You can take notes on any audio item throughout the test to help you answer questions. |
| Speaking | The TOEFL iBT Speaking section measures your ability to speak English effectively in academic settings. The section includes four questions/tasks that resemble real-life situations you might encounter both in and outside of a classroom. Question 1: Independent Speaking Task — requires you to draw entirely on your own ideas, opinions and experiences when you respond. Questions 2–4: Integrated Speaking Tasks — require you to combine your English-language skills — listening and speaking, or listening, reading and speaking — just as you would in or out of a classroom. Prep time: You’ll get 15–30 seconds of preparation time before each response, and your response will be 45 or 60 seconds long. Speaking response: To respond, you’ll speak into the microphone and your responses will be recorded. Test time: It should take about 16 minutes to complete the Speaking section. Scoring: Speaking tasks are scored based on the Speaking Scoring Guides (Rubrics) by a combination of AI scoring and certified human raters. Raw scores are converted to a scaled section score of 0–30. |
| Writing | The TOEFL iBT test Writing section measures your ability to write in English in an academic setting and to present your ideas in a clear, well-organized way. There are two writing tasks. Integrated writing task (20 minutes) — read a short passage and listen to a short lecture, then write in response to what you read and listened to. Writing for an Academic Discussion task (10 minutes) — state and support an opinion in an online classroom discussion. You have to type your responses on a computer keyboard. Test time: It should take about 29 minutes to complete the Writing section. Scoring: Writing tasks are scored based on the Writing Scoring Guides (Rubrics) by a combination of AI scoring and certified human raters. Raw scores are converted to a scaled section score of 0–30. |
TOEFL iBT Scores
You will be able to check your TOEFL iBT scores through your ETS account.
- TOEFL iBT scores will be available in your ETS account 4–8 days after your test date.
- The exact date you can expect to receive your official scores will be displayed at the end of your TOEFL iBT test.
How to check TOEFL iBT scores?
- Through your ETS account – You’ll get an email when your scores are available, and you can access your account online. Your scores are valid for 2 years, so you may want to download and print a PDF copy of your score report. PDF score reports are ready for download 1 day after you receive your scores electronically through your ETS account. If you have questions about your score report, contact TOEFL Services.
- By mail – If you requested a paper copy of your score report before you took the test, it will be mailed 11–15 days after your test date, or sooner depending on how you took the test. Delivery times will vary based on local postal services.
- Express shipping – You can also get a paper copy of your score report faster with the express shipping option. Express score reports are usually delivered only 2–5 business days after test scores are confirmed or the additional score report is ordered. Note that if you will have the option to select this service during test registration or when ordering an additional score report.
Sample TOEFL iBT Scorecard
Validity of TOEFL iBT scores
The scores will be valid for 2 years.
So, download the PDF copy of the score report.
Note that the PDF score reports are ready for download 2 days after you receive your scores electronically through your ETS account.
If you have questions about your score report, contact TOEFL Services.
Sending TOEFL iBT Scores to Recipients
Choosing score recipients before the test
The TOEFL iBT test fee includes up to four free official TOEFL score reports to be sent to the institutions, agencies or other recipients that you select before you take the test. You can add or delete recipients through your ETS account until 10 p.m. (local test center time) on the day before your test.
However, note that if you choose any institution or agency to receive your scores, you won’t be able to request a score review of your Writing and/or Speaking sections.
When institutions will receive your scores
The time required to deliver the score will vary depending on how you took the test and how your designated score recipients receive scores:
- ETS® Data Manager: 4–8 business days (11–13 business days for Paper Edition)
- Server feeds: 8–10 business days (11–16 business days for Paper Edition)
- Postal mail: 10–12 business days plus mailing time. Allow an additional 7–10 days for mail delivery in the United States, and 4–6 weeks for mail delivery to other locations.
Additional score reports
The TOEFL iBT scores are valid for 2 years after the test date. During that time, you can order additional score reports for a fee of US$20 per institution/agency.
The easiest way to order is through the ETS account.
To order by fax or mail, complete the TOEFL iBT® Additional Score Report Request Form (PDF) and send to:
| Fax | 1-610-290-8972 |
| ETS-TOEFL iBT; P.O. Box 6153; Princeton, NJ 08541-6153; USA |
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