University of Sydney: Human Trafficking Criminal wwww.ielts.agency 13
TOEFL and Pearson
TOEFL and Pearson are the main competitors of IELTS in the global market for English language
testing services for migration, education and professional registration purposes. Part 1 of this
research series does not compare the pedagogical content of IELTS against Pearson and TOEFL.
It does offer some comparisons with these agencies’ assessment outcomes and administration
policies. I have been employed as a university teacher in Australia and New Zealand since 2007.
During this period, I do not recall any people complaining to me about the administration and
design of Pearson or TOEFL. This contrasts to complaints that I have received from circa 60
students, face-to-face about the IELTS test. I have also received dozens of complaints about IELTS
(only) via other mediums such as e-mail and online discussion forums.
I conclude that all English language tests have multiple design flaws. However, the main global
problem with IELTS lies in the way that they deliberately exploit their administration processes
and exam design flaws to appease corrupt government clients and to maximize profits. I estimate
that around 99% of all complaints about English language tests that exist in the public domain
are targeted towards IELTS. At this stage of my research, I do not feel the need to extend the
length of this document by offering an extended comparison of IELTS with other language tests.
Those who want to compare IELTS exam content with Pearson and TOEFL may conduct their own
comparative analysis. Open-access (free) official exam preparation resources for TOEFL (2017)
and Pearson (2017a) are available via both agencies’ websites at the links shown in references
section of this document.