After three years of lockdowns, the pandemic has finally ended. The joy of finally being free came with the excitement at the thought that TOEFL tests would never be canceled again.
TOEFL is a test held by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), a nonprofit organization in America. The test is very famous because millions of students take it to prove their English skills and fulfill their dreams of studying in a school or university in an English-speaking country.
TOEFL tests are taken on a computer, where you read, listen, speak, and write. However, just like social media, which also consists of high intensity reading, listening, speaking, and writing, things get canceled a lot. Test cancellations make taking the TOEFL a much more painful experience for high school students in China. Because of how important the test is, however, we must take it.
Taking TOEFL is like being Kanye: when you take TOEFL, there is a squad of ETS staff who make a living out of it by canceling you for mostly legitimate reasons, but, of course, you do not agree with their decisions.
If your test is taken offline, your test or test score can be canceled due to Covid or the fact that multiple test takers in the same test center as you had very similar answers. Regardless of the reason, getting your tests canceled can be very frustrating and discouraging.
A friend of mine, currently a Junior, had his TOEFL test canceled because of Covid for 6 times in a row. “All my preparation felt like a complete waste of time. And after seeing all my classmates getting a good score, I could not feel more disappointed.” TOEFL’s importance during high school is underrated. It is required for applying to certain summer schools and academic programs. In our school, it is also used to determine a student’s English skills and what he or she will learn in English lessons—the lower the score, the easier the classes. For someone who could not get a chance to take the TOEFL test, being forced to take easier lessons is both unfair and detrimental for his or her development.
Taking a class that is not on-par with your skill level is not even the worst situation. A classmate of mine who I used to take TOEFL lessons with could not acquire a single successful TOEFL test score during the months when he was applying to college. He attended community college instead.
Because of these problems, more and more students have been turning towards the TOEFL home edition to avoid test cancellations. The TOEFL home edition is the same as the offline TOEFL, except you can take it in your own room, and there will be an ETS employee who makes sure that you are not cheating.
Before the test, you will have access to a separate program that helps you check whether your computer and internet is fast enough to ensure that the test goes smoothly. I must give TOEFL credit for having this program; it really helps people choose the right device for the test. But the problem is that sometimes, despite your passing the program, there is still a decent chance that the test could go wrong—mainly because of internet lag.
For obvious reasons, internet issues happen all the time for students in China. As a test that is completely based on the internet, internet lag prevents ETS employees from making sure you are not cheating, and it makes going through the questions and passages extremely time-consuming. Although there are workers who could fix most issues, including internet lag, the process takes hours. While listening to the complaints of my friends, I frequently hear about how some of the ETS employees seem to encounter issues on their ends too, which usually leaves the test takers with no choice but to find another employee. In extreme situations, no other employee is available, and the test takers have no choice but to reschedule.
Moreover, the TOEFL home edition is not free of test cancellations. When the ETS employees detect some suspicious movements from you, your score might be put on hold, which will require you to patiently wait for weeks or even months to see if your test score is actually canceled.
Nonetheless, instead of complaining about the TOEFL home edition, which I consider a great way of relaxing and socializing, we should prepare ourselves better for the test and prevent ourselves from being falsely accused of cheating. A few tips that I found online include using a VPN from a famous brand (yes, seeing a weird VPN app would cause an ETS employee to suspect you and require you to change a VPN), not talking to yourself, and not looking at anywhere other than the screen during the test.
However, luckily, the Covid era is finally over. Tests getting canceled because of Covid might not be a thing anymore. Testing offline would become available to us all. Although our test scores could still be delayed or canceled, taking another test will be far easier. Also, when you angrily complain about ETS for cancelling your exam, please remember that they are doing this to ensure that your hard-earned score is not ruined by any cheaters!
Sources:
https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/387745200
https://www.zhihu.com/question/493185479
https://www.zhihu.com/question/413946525?ivk_sa=1024320uhttps://www.ets.org/content/dam/ets-org/pdfs/toefl/toefl-ibt-test-score-data-summary-2019.pdfhttps://www.ets.org/content/dam/ets-org/pdfs/toefl/toefl-ibt-test-score-data-summary-2020.pdfhttps://www.financialexpress.com/education-2/interview-wallace-dalrymple-chief-security-officer-ets-we-have-no-plans-to-discontinue-at-home-exams/2866038/https://www.memecreator.org/meme/one-does-not-simply-do-toefl-test-without-tips-and-tricks4/
https://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2015/09/story-on-how-to-pass-gmat-toefl-by.html
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FTOEFL%2Fphotos%2Fa.438762769517882%2F4145148232212632%2F%3Ftype%3D3&psig=AOvVaw3kVhVfHdG9u7QpEqEgSPOO&ust=1671849840440000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CBAQjhxqFwoTCJCmg5bcjvwCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD
https://www.google.com.hk/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2FMemeslenguas%2Fposts%2F613263942765724%2F&psig=AOvVaw1QtZRSW-SPsvx8fYCPburO&ust=1671849945462000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CBIQ3YkBahcKEwigwt3D3I78AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAw
Jessica T