The Use of TOEFL iBT® in Admissions Decisions: Stakeholder Perceptions of Policies and Practices

Abstract

This paper reports partial results from a larger study of how three different groups of stakeholders—university admissions officers, faculty in graduate programs involved in admissions decisions, and Intensive English Program (IEP) faculty—interpret and use TOEFL iBT® scores in making admissions decisions or preparing students to meet minimum test score requirements. Our overall goal was to gain a better understanding of the perceived role of English language proficiency in admissions decisions and the internal and external factors that inform decisions about acceptable ways to demonstrate proficiency and minimal standards. To that end, we designed surveys for each stakeholder group that contained questions for all groups and questions specific to each group. This report focuses on the questions that were common to all three groups across two areas: (1) understandings of and participation in institutional policy making around English language proficiency tests and (2) knowledge of and attitudes toward the TOEFL iBT test itself. Our results suggested that, as predicted, university admissions staff were the most aware of and involved in policy making but frequently consulted with ESL experts such as IEP faculty when setting policies. This stakeholder group was also the most knowledgeable about the TOEFL iBT test. Faculty in graduate programs varied in their understanding of and involvement in policy making and reported the least familiarity with the test. However, they reported that more information about many aspects of the test would help them make better admissions decisions. The results of the study add to the growing literature on language assessment literacy among various stakeholder groups, especially in terms of identifying aspects of assessment literacy that are important to different groups of stakeholders.