Different Performance of EFL University Students on TOEFL and IELTS

Abstract

TOEFL and IELTS are increasingly used as university admission requirements all over the world. This research investigates students' performance on these tests, identify the least capable students to pass them and provide the necessary details for placing students into different English levels. The TOEFL and IELTS results during the academic years 2005-9 and 2010 -13 were analyzed. The findings showed that about 25% of students passed TOEFL, but when IELTS was used beside TOEFL, the pass rate went up to 31%, and it rose dramatically to about 60% when the IETLS cut off band score was lowered to 5.0. Furthermore, it was found that the students who got less than 380/390 TOEFL scores on their entry were the least likely students to pass TOEFL or IELTS after having English training. Some possible reasons for the differing performance of EFL students on TOEFL and IELTS were discussed.