Test facts

An increasingly mobile international workforce is also a factor that has boosted the popularity of IELTS. It is now the most widely used test for visa and citizenship purposes in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

In this final part, we will uncover for you some more interesting facts about the delivery of the IELTS test.

Test security measures

IELTS adopts a multi-layered approach to test security to protect the integrity of test results. To begin with, there are tight regulations surrounding the storage and handling of test material. Tailor-made biometric systems are used at test venues to verify the identity of test takers, right from when they first arrive till they complete the last section of the test. Strict test conditions prevail at test venues to thwart any attempts at copying or collusion. To help identify imposters, detect fraudulent behaviour and prevent cheating, test centre staff undergo intensive training periodically.

Once a test session concludes, routine inspection of test results has to happen before scores can be released.  Test takers receive a Test Report Form (TRF), which is printed on security-enhanced paper and authenticated by an IELTS validation stamp. The TRF also contains a high-resolution photograph of the test taker. Finally, as an additional safeguard against fraudulent documents, a recognising organisation (e.g. college, immigration authority) can verify online the authenticity of every IELTS TRF presented to them. All they need to do is sign up for the free IELTS TRF Verification Service: it will enable them to check if the results they receive match the results on the IELTS database.

Getting help

While the test is in progress, test takers can seek help from test centre staff if the need arises. For example, if you believe you have received the wrong question paper, or if the question paper you have is incomplete or illegible, immediately raise your hand. An invigilator will then approach you and offer assistance. Similarly, if you experience trouble with your headphones during the Listening section, an invigilator will be at hand to sort it out. However, do not expect test centre staff to provide any explanation of the test questions!

So, if you need proof of your competence in English, then look no further than IELTS, the test that more than 11,000 organisations across the globe trust implicitly.

The internationalisation of higher education in recent times has been a key factor that has driven the demand for IELTS. Given that the test is recognised for entrance to universities and colleges across the English-speaking world, it is the preferred way for most youngsters aspiring to get a foreign education to demonstrate their English proficiency.   

In this blog post, we will talk about some of the measures that make IELTS fair and highly reliable.

Ensuring quality and fairness

Over the years, IELTS has established itself as an assessment tool that is fair to all test takers, whatever their nationality, cultural background, gender or special needs.

For a start, it assesses language skills, not specialist knowledge, so the topics covered are all quite general in nature. The test measures practical communication ability, which means that learning prepared answers by rote will not get test takers anywhere. One of the pluses of IELTS is that it recognises all standard varieties of native-speaker English, such as Australian English, British English and New Zealand English. You can rest assured that your background will in no way affect the outcome of the test.

There are safeguards and systems in place to ensure that the delivery of the test is both consistent and secure. Unique test versions, for instance, are created so that test takers will never sit the same test twice. Furthermore, each test version is subject to routine analysis in order to check whether the performances of test materials, test takers and Examiners are in line with expected standards.

Reliability of test results

Not many people know that all active IELTS Examiners receive periodic feedback on their performance. This task is performed by a team of IELTS Principal Examiners and Assistant Principal Examiners, who second-mark selected Speaking and Writing performances to check assessment quality.  Additionally, if there is a significant difference between a test taker’s scores – for example, a band 5 for Reading and band 8 for Speaking – the IELTS computer system flags it up so that double marking is carried out without fail. Do not miss the final part in this blog post series – among other things, you will get to read about IELTS test security regulations.

If you are looking to work, live or study in an English-speaking country, then the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) can help you do just that by letting you demonstrate your ability to use English effectively in a variety of real-world contexts. The test is accepted by more than 11,000 employers, universities, schools and immigration bodies, including 3,400 institutions in the USA.

In this blog post series, you will get to discover some little-known facts about the world’s leading language test of English for international migration and higher education.

Getting the perfect score

If you count yourself among those who believe that the perfect IELTS score – i.e. band 9 – is something that only a native English speaker can conjure up, then you are gravely mistaken! The truth of the matter is that native and non-native English speakers have an even chance of producing an IELTS band 9.

In IELTS Speaking, for instance, a native English speaker will get a score lower on pronunciation if their accent has considerable effect on intelligibility. On the other hand, a non-native speaker who is able to use a full range of pronunciation features with precision and subtlety, and who is effortless to understand will get rated a band 9 on this criterion. It’s your skill that matters, nothing else!

Test development

Launched in 1989, IELTS has built its worldwide reputation over the years by undertaking extensive research to provide secure, reliable testing that meets the needs of users across a wide range of sectors. Rigorous test design, development and validation processes are in place to ensure that every version of the test is of a comparable level of difficulty.

For example, did you know that test writers from different English-speaking countries, such as Australia, Canada and the UK, are involved in developing IELTS content so that it reflects real-life situations around the world? To ensure that IELTS is unbiased and fair to all test takers, new test questions are extensively trialled with people from different cultures.

We will reveal more surprising facts about the world’s most popular language test in subsequent parts of this series.