Choosing testing day

**asrs** · 08-26-2011, 03:10 AM

Hi all,

Most of my friends said that it is better to get higher TOEFL scores by choosing the testing days when TOEFL is also taken place in Asia. They gave some reasons to support this point as follows:
1. The TOEFL ibt scores are based on the average English proficiency of all examinees who take TOEFL test at the same time (or same test content)
2. English proficiency of Asian is not as good as this of people that live in Europe or North America.
Therefore, if we take TOEFL at the same day with Asian, we only compete lower English proficiency examinees, and will get higher scores.

I wonder whether this information is correct????

Thank you in advance!

**Tino** · 08-26-2011, 05:22 AM

No.

Tino

**TOEFL Corey** · 08-26-2011, 02:58 PM

No, your friends' ideas have absolutely NO basis in reality. Your scores are based on YOUR performance and are not graded "on a curve" in relationshp to anyone else.

1) Two of the four sections (reading and listening) are multiple-choice. You get the same exact questions as everyone else in the world who took the test that day and your score is calculated based on the number of correct answers, so it wouldn't matter whether people were taking the test in Japan or on Venus or Mars that day -- your score is your score.

2) Your essays and audio files are assessed individually by trained raters. They assign your scores based on set criteria -- NOT how they "stack up" to the other 50 recordings or essays they have heard/seen on that day.

... and by the way, just for the record, I've now helped between 50 and 55 students reach the 26/30 level in speaking or higher, but only two students have scored a perfect 30/30 (meaning perfect 4s on all six tasks). One was a student in Indonesia named Ronald R. and the other a physical therapist in the Philippines named Marlon C. (I believe both those countries are in ASIA!!!!!).

**asrs** · 08-26-2011, 05:15 PM

Thank you, TOEFL Corey.

From your website, I'm particularly interested in your courses, namely "Intensive 1-week Special (7 hrs.) ". Can you describe more information about this course?
In fact, I only need to improve speaking section, and will definitely take the TOEFL in Sept 9, 2011.

Once again, thank you for your help.

Originally Posted by TOEFL Corey

No, your friends' ideas have absolutely NO basis in reality. Your scores are based on YOUR performance and are not graded "on a curve" in relationshp to anyone else.

1) Two of the four sections (reading and listening) are multiple-choice. You get the same exact questions as everyone else in the world who took the test that day and your score is calculated based on the number of correct answers, so it wouldn't matter whether people were taking the test in Japan or on Venus or Mars that day -- your score is your score.

2) Your essays and audio files are assessed individually by trained raters. They assign your scores based on set criteria -- NOT how they "stack up" to the other 50 recordings or essays they have heard/seen on that day.

... and by the way, just for the record, I've now helped between 50 and 55 students reach the 26/30 level in speaking or higher, but only two students have scored a perfect 30/30 (meaning perfect 4s on all six tasks). One was a student in Indonesia named Ronald R. and the other a physical therapist in the Philippines named Marlon C. (I believe both those countries are in ASIA!!!!!).

**TOEFL Corey** · 08-26-2011, 05:39 PM

You're welcome, but I don't want to hijack this thread and make it a commerical for my tutoring services, so I will send you an IM here, and then you can respond through email or on Skype if you are interested in lessons.