Contents · 2019-10-31 · What is IELTS? IELTS is an English test that assesses listening,...

What is IELTS? 3Who accepts IELTS? 4The British Council and IELTS 7Delivering the IELTS test 8Test frequency 9Test administration 10Marking 11Marketing and promoting IELTS 13Frequently asked questions 14

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IELTS is the world’s most popular English language test for higher education and global migration.

Over 3.5 milliontests taken in 2018

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What is IELTS?

IELTS is an English test that assesses listening, reading, writing and speaking skills. It is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge Assessment English.

There are two test types:

• IELTS Academic is for higher education or professional training.

• IELTS General Training is for secondary education, migration, work or training.

The test is made up of:

Test Report FormTest takers receive a Test Report Form (TRF) which is valid for two years. This is issued 13 days after the test for IELTS on paper and 5-7 days after the test for IELTS on computer.

Listening

Speaking

Academic Reading

Academic Writing

General Training Writing

General Training Reading

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New ZealandImmigration New Zealand accepts IELTS along with several other organisations.

Over 10,000 organisations around the world accept IELTS. As the most popular test for higher education and working abroad, it gives test takers a huge number of opportunities.

See the full list For a full list of universities and organisations that accept IELTS, visit takeielts.org

Who accepts IELTS?

United KingdomAll British universities and colleges accept IELTS, including UK Visas and Immigration.

United StatesOver 3,400 institutes in the USA accept IELTS.

AustraliaOver 1,000 organisations in Australia accept IELTS, including the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

CanadaIELTS is accepted byImmigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and by over 450 organisations.

Globally recognisedIELTS is recognised in Germany, Malaysia, Netherlands and many other countries around the globe.

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“ The worldwide availability of IELTS makes it an attractive option.”London School of Economics, UK

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The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.6


The British Council brings people togetherWe create friendly knowledge and understanding between people of the UK and other countries. We do this by making a positive contribution to the UK and the countries we work with – changing lives by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust.

The British Council and IELTS

Develop a new income stream – a valuable service offering for your test takers, your other educational departments and local residents.

Benefit from brand association – including a certificate of recognition from the British Council.

Receive marketing support – free materials to promote IELTS to test takers.

Access training opportunities – staff development on the registration process and test process.

Tap into free learning support – including study resources and IELTS preparation material for your staff and test takers.

Gain market insight – regular updates from the British Council on market trends and insights.

Why partner with the British Council and become an IELTS Test Centre?

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All IELTS test centres are able to offer the paper-based test, computer-delivered or both.

The Listening, Reading and Writing sections

The Listening, Reading and Writing sections are tested one after the other with no break – the total time taken is approximately 2 hours 45 minutes.

There must be at least one Invigilator for every 25 test takers in one test room, plus an additional ‘floating’ Invigilator to accompany test takers on comfort breaks.

The Speaking section

The Speaking section is a one-to-one 20-minute interview between a test taker and an Examiner.

It can be taken up to 7 days before or 2 days after the other three test sections.

Delivering the IELTS test

Writing

x2 Invigilators

Listening

Reading

2 hours 45 minutes

Speaking

One-to-one interview

20 minutes

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An IELTS test centre is expected to offer a minimum of one test session per month – although for new test centres, two test sessions a month is likely to be the target.

Test frequency

Setting targets Once a new test centre is up and running and knows its market, it typically works with the British Council to set a minimum number of tests to be taken annually, with a view to increasing that number over time until it reaches full capacity.

Meeting demand Test takers should not have to wait longer than one month to take a test from the date of enquiry at a test centre. If necessary to cater for demand, test centres should arrange additional testing space outside their organisation or offer additional test sessions.

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Test administration

Each test centre must appoint an IELTS Administrator.

IELTS Administrators are responsible for:

Ensuring compliance of all those involved with IELTS (Examiners, Test Day Supervisors, Invigilators) with all areas covered in the IELTS manuals.

Keeping all stakeholders updated on new information from Cambridge Assessment English and the British Council.

Staff appointment, training and general management – including Examiners, Test Day Supervisors and Invigilators.

Security, storage, ordering and return of test materials to and from Cambridge Assessment English in the UK.

Managing test takers’ enquiries by email, phone and in person; and processing online registrations.

Collecting the test fee from test takers and sending monthly fee returns to the British Council.

Test planning and administration – including pre-test preparations, administration on the day and afterwards, and dealing with any test taker complaints.

Secure delivery of all test sittings (both paper-based and computer-delivered), including organising off-site tests as appropriate and on request.

Test centres are encouraged to promote to local high schools, colleges and universities; build partnerships with their contacts and raise IELTS awareness throughout the community.

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Marking

The Listening, Reading and Writing sections

For paper-based IELTSTest centres scan test takers’ Listening, Reading and Writing answer sheets in a secure location within the building. These are then sent to global British Council hubs to be marked.

For computer-delivered IELTSNo scanning is required, but all Listening, Reading and Writing tests are sent to global British Council hubs to be marked.

The Speaking sectionIELTS Speaking tests are marked by trained IELTS Examiners. New centres are required to recruit and train their own pool of Examiners – a minimum of three is recommended.

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Marketing and promoting IELTS

Test centres are required to promote their testing services within their institution, city, local and regional community. British Council regional and country-based teams as well as IELTS Global Marketing colleagues are on hand to guide and support centres with their marketing and business development efforts. Centres also receive IELTS promotional materials at no charge (if applicable).

Marketing Action Plan

All test centres are requested to provide an annual Marketing Action Plan (MAP) to the British Council for the year ahead. The details of all centres, including test dates, are listed on ielts.ca for Canada and takeielts.org for the rest of the world. All centres must use official IELTS branding in any publications produced in-house; a toolkit is provided to make this easy and cost-effective to apply.

Customisable marketing material and templates are available through EMBLEM.

Some proven marketing methods:

Direct (e-)mailings and personal contact with local educational and other institutions (such as higher and further education colleges, private colleges and language schools, high schools, consulates).

IELTS-focused presentations at local conferences.

Digital and social media campaigns.

British Council is a proud co-owner of IELTS.

IELTS Marketing for Test Centres

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Frequently asked questions

How long is the test centre application and set-up process?The estimated minimum time between submission of an expression of interest and the first test day is 3.5 months. This can vary depending on how quickly the application material and Service Level Agreement are processed and returned by the test centre, and the process of Examiner recruitment and training. A detailed step-by-step set-up guide is available to potential test centres.

What support is provided during the initial set-up process? Full training is provided by British Council staff, nominated test centre mentors and the allocated Examiner Trainer. Also, British Council staff or the test centre mentor may be present at the centre’s first test, arriving half a day before (if needed) to ensure that everything is ready for the launch. A full report with guidance notes is completed and handed over on the first test date.

What initial support is provided to new IELTS test centres? British Council staff are available during office hours, and new centres may also be allocated a regionally-based test centre mentor. The IELTS Test Standards step-by-step guidance is available for running the test. (Any incidents that occur on a test day must be reported to the British Council the next business day using the appropriate reporting procedure.) An Administrators’ meeting and training session is held approximately once every 12 months to inform participants of any new policy or changes to test administration.

What is the minimum staffing requirement to support a new centre? Is it necessary to recruit new staff? A centre must designate one person as the IELTS Administrator and will need to recruit Examiners, Test Day Supervisors and Invigilators. All roles can be filled by existing staff if the minimum professional requirements

are met. All Test Day Supervisors and Invigilators are trained by the Administrator.

Can test centres choose when and where to hold a test? Paper-based tests must take place either on a Thursday or a Saturday, and computer-delivered tests can take place any day of the week. Test centres normally hold tests in classroom or auditorium-type space(s) within their premises, although it may sometimes be necessary to use or hire other spaces depending on demand. Centres may also be required to hold off-site tests in locations outside their local area. In all cases, spaces must meet the requirements of the IELTS Code of Practice and the IELTS Test Standards.

Who sets the IELTS test fee?The IELTS test taker fee is set by each centre and should be based on the local market situation and prices charged by other IELTS test centres and competitors. The test fee is divided into a ‘local fee’ and a ‘central fee’. The ‘local fee’ is retained at source by the centre and should cover all of the centre’s operational costs. The ‘central fee’, set every January for the calendar year ahead, is invoiced regularly in arrears by the British Council based on the number of paid test takers. The centre is responsible for collecting the test fee from test takers registering with them.

Who is responsible for employment of staff and staff payments? All payments to staff (Administrators, Examiner Trainers, Examiners, Test Day Supervisors and Invigilators) are made locally by the test centre from the local fee. There are no IELTS set rates for the payment of Examiners, Test Day Supervisors or Invigilators and it is necessary for the centre to determine the local market rates. The British Council does not directly employ any staff involved in test delivery locally. It is up to the centre to decide remuneration for all IELTS staff.

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What are the initial set-up costs?Administrators are normally trained by the British Council at no cost to the centre. However, where this involves travel, those costs must be paid by the centre. Occasionally the British Council allocates a mentor to a new centre and, if training is provided by this mentor, the centre may be required to cover travel costs.

Examiners are trained by the Examiner Trainer (ET) over two days. The test centre is required to cover the ET’s fees, travel costs, accommodation and expenses. The ET participates in the Examiner recruitment process and monitors all work completed by the centre’s Examiners in their first test – the centre also covers the cost of this work. Monitoring involves re-marking three random Speaking interviews and completing a written report.

What equipment is required to become a Test Centre?Two separate scanners and a dedicated laptop are required to scan Listening, Reading and Writing answer sheets after the paper-based test. Digital recorders are needed for the Speaking tests – one per Examiner. Centres are required to purchase a camera, two laptops and a finger scanner to capture test taker biometrics, and a secure data locker will be required to store post-test electronic data. A connected printer should also be available. All equipment must be compliant with the British Council and IELTS specifications.

What ongoing costs can a test centre expect? Training costs:

• Travel costs for the annual IELTS Administrators’ Meeting and relevant training events for any major new products or projects.

• All costs related to ongoing Examiner monitoring and standardisation.

• Travel and accommodation costs of the Examiner Trainer’s standardisation (every 2 years).

Marketing Centres should invest in an initial local marketing campaign to establish their name as the area’s IELTS test centre. This will happen with support and guidance from the regional and country British Council teams as well as IELTS Global Marketing colleagues.

What are the security requirements?Test security is a key requirement and there are several criteria that must be fulfilled.The Administrator is responsible for monitoring all access to and return of test materials, and centres are required to keep comprehensive stock control documents. All staff involved with IELTS must sign a comprehensive Code of Practice and Confidentiality Undertaking.

How often are test centres audited? All centres undergo either a scheduled or ‘spot’ audit (inspection) at least once every two years, carried out by British Council staff. The full audit process normally takes 2-3 days and looks at all areas of the test centre operation and delivery. The audit process is viewed as supportive, although it may be necessary to establish an action plan to remedy any issues that are out of compliance. Centres are also asked to perform an annual self-audit which is submitted to the British Council.

Is there a quality monitoring process? Examiners undergo constant monitoring of their performance, managed by the Administrator in conjunction with the Examiner Trainer allocated to the centre. Full procedures for the recruitment, training, monitoring and recertification of Examiners are detailed in the Professional Support Network (PSN) Manual.

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Contents · 2019-10-31 · What is IELTS? IELTS is an English test that assesses listening,...

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Transcript of Contents · 2019-10-31 · What is IELTS? IELTS is an English test that assesses listening,...