On English Proficiency Tests

There are a host of tests that may be required of non-native speakers of English if they plan to study in an English-speaking country or university. To be clear, there may be other language competency tests for students wishing to study in languages other than English in university. However, this post is about English proficiency. Generally, there seems to be some misinformation circulating that we wanted to dispel.

First, the official recommendation of the Office of College Counseling (OCC) at Graded is that students plan to take an English language proficiency test if and only if:

1. the student has not been at Graded or another English-language school for all four years of high school (bilingual schools do not count); or
2. the student has been in English support (EAL, ESL, EAP, etc) at any point during the four years of high school (middle school does not matter); or
3. the student is certain that they will be required to sit for the test for some reason.

Adhering to these criteria will cover the vast majority of English language proficiency requirements; however, there will be some exceptions. For example, all students who hail from a country where English is not the official language of record must sit for the IELTS if they plan to apply for university in the United Kingdom, regardless of their proficiency, due to the UK's visa requirements. There are some other possible exceptions as well. However, the OCC recommends that students wait until they have made their college list at the end of grade 11 to cross-reference whether any of their universities will require them to sit for such a test. At that point, there is still ample time to sit for these tests. There is no rush, so we recommend waiting. 

Second, there is no best test. The IELTS is required for the United Kingdom; no other tests are accepted. Otherwise, between TOEFL, DET (Duolingo), and others, it is a matter of student preference. We have been suggesting the Duolingo test since students can take it in the comfort of their own home without much advanced planning while the others require the student to register in advance and then to go to a test center at a certain date, etc. 

Third, there is no advantage in sitting for a language test and submitting it if it is not required of you. Several independent consultants have been advising our students to take the IELTS or TOEFL and to submit the score to compensate for a relatively weak SAT EBRW (reading) score. These are separate tests and do not support one another. There is no advantage to be gained here! It is only time and money lost. If you are faced with this recommendation, please let your Graded college counselor know and interrogate this advice carefully. Students can always email our college representatives to ask -- or ask during their visits to Graded!

Fourth, there is little advantage to be gained from re-taking the test multiple times. It makes sense to prepare by visiting the test's website and being familiar with the format, but the extensive nature of the tests prevents much advantage from being gained from re-testing. Seek guidance from your college counselor before re-testing!

Fifth, generally, if you are required to sit for an English proficiency test, you should be in regular practice of English. As such, it is often best to avoid testing during or after the June/July holiday as many students return to a non-English speaking environment. Consequently, we recommend students who need to sit for an exam plan to sit for it toward the end of grade 11. (Again, this lends additional emphasis on the importance of having a comprehensive list at the end of grade 11.)

If you have additional questions, seek guidance from your Graded college counselor. We are happy to help!