TOEFL score reports to be available within six days of appearing for exam

Students appearing for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) will now be able to get their scores within six days of taking the exam as against the previous period of minimum 10 days.

The Educational Testing Services (ETS), which conducts the test, has also launched the official TOEFL app to help students register for the English language examination.

"As part of an effort to enhance test experience for students and its value to institutions worldwide we have reduced the score reporting time to six days," Executive Director of the TOEFL programme Srikant Gopal said.

Students can now download the TOEFL app through Apple app store or Google play store. The app will offer similar features to students' online accounts, including test registration, searching for test centres and finding open seats in a two-month period.

The users will be able to purchase comprehensive guides and link to free practice material, including a full-length practice test and TOEFL insider's guide online course scores, view score reports from all valid test administrations, including best scores, and send additional score reports to designated institutions, Gopal said.

Requests for disability accommodations or health-related needs accommodations can also be made using the app and users will be able to view the status of current and past requests.

The ETS had earlier this year announced certain changes to TOEFL to "bring the test in sync with changing demands of educational institutions".

From August, the duration of the test was shortened by 30 minutes and the number of questions in three sections -- reading, listening and speaking-- reduced. The earlier duration of the test was three-and-a-half hours.

The ETS had in May also announced introduction of a feature called 'My best scores' which combines test takers' best scores for each section from all valid TOEFL scores from the previous two years.

The option allows test takers to show their best overall test performance to institutions making important admissions decisions.

The TOEFL, a global test for English language, is welcomed by more than 10,000 institutions in over 150 countries and is universally accepted in popular destinations like the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and by over 98 per cent of universities in the United Kingdom.