United States Test Preparation

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)

 
 

The Educational Testing Service (ETS), a non-profit organization founded in the United States, created the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) in 1964. The TOEFL tests international students on English fluency, including reading, listening, speaking and writing skills. Many American undergraduate schools require international students prove fluency with the English language in order to gain admissions.

 
 

Format

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) contains four (4) sections:

  • Reading (60-80 Minutes; 36-56 Questions; Score 1-30)

  • Listening (60-90 Minutes; 34-51 Questions; Score 1-30)

  • Speaking (20 Minutes; 6 Tasks; Score 1-30)

  • Writing (50 Minutes; 2 Tasks; Score 1-30)

  • TOEFL Score Range 0-120

8

Percentile Ranks for TOEFL iBT Section Scores for 2019

Scaled Score Reading Listening Speaking Writing
30 95% 95% 98% 99%
29 88% 89% 97% 98%
28 81% 83% 95% 95%
27 74% 77% 92% 91%
26 68% 72% 88% 87%
25 62% 66% 83% 81%
24 57% 59% 77% 73%
23 51% 53% 65% 66%
22 46% 48% 54% 57%
21 41% 42% 45% 46%
20 36% 37% 38% 35%
19 31% 32% 29% 29%
18 27% 28% 22% 23%
17 23% 24% 16% 18%
16 20% 20% 11% 14%
15 17% 17% 8% 11%
14 14% 14% 5% 8%
13 12% 11% 4% 6%
12 10% 9% 3% 5%
11 8% 8% 2% 3%
10 6% 6% 2% 2%
9 5% 5% 1% 1%
8 4% 4% 1% 1%
7 3% 2% 1% -
6 2% 2% 1% -
5 2% 1% - -
4 1% 1% - -
3 1% - - -
2 - - - -
1 - - - -
0 - - - -
Mean Scores 21.2 20.9 20.6 20.5
Standard Deviation 6.6 6.4 4.4 4.7
Source: Educational Testing System (ETS) 2021
 

Percentile Ranks for TOEFL iBT Total Scores for 2019

Total TOEFL Scaled Score Percentile Rank
120 100%
116 99%
112 96%
108 92%
104 86%
100 78%
96 70%
92 61%
88 53%
84 45%
80 38%
76 31%
72 25%
68 20%
64 16%
60 13%
56 10%
52 8%
48 6%
44 4%
40 3%
36 2%
32 1%
28 1%
24 -
20 -
16 -
12 -
8 -
4 -
0 -
Mean Scores 82
Standard Deviation 20
Source: Educational Testing System (ETS) 2021