TOEFL Junior® Tests

General Information

For middle-school to early high-school-level English-language programs (aged 11+)

The TOEFL Junior® tests are trusted around the globe to help build students’ English-language skills and confidence. Intended for students ages 11+, the TOEFL Junior® tests are an accurate and reliable measure of your students’ communicative skills in English.

Like all tests in the TOEFL Family of Assessments, the TOEFL Junior Tests are based on solid research to ensure fairness, validity and reliability, and reflect best practices in language testing. While the ETS university-level TOEFL® test continues to set the standard for English proficiency worldwide, the TOEFL Junior tests measure the degree to which students in middle school and lower levels of high school have attained proficiency in the academic and social English-language skills.

Discover the ways TOEFL Junior scores can help you

Provide parents, students and teachers with objective information about student progress in developing English-language skills over time
Place students in English-language programmes so they are matched with level-appropriate instruction
Monitor progress over time to gauge students’ learning and proficiency
Use score reports and performance feedback to tailor English instruction and guide conversations with parents
Advise students on appropriate book selections based on Lexile® measures, from MetaMetrics Inc., to improve their English reading proficiency www.lexile.com/toefljunior
Map student achievement to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for international benchmarking

Benefits of the TOEFL Junior tests also include:

Highly accurate scoring and convenient administrations that ensure data you can trust
Meaningful and easy-to-understand score reports and performance feedback that give a complete look at a student’s ability and facilitate communication with parents
Teacher and student resources available to support and drive student learning
Score reports with the student’s Lexile measure to support reading development and improve English reading proficiency
Achievement certificates to illustrate student progress for parents
Flexible and convenient test administration

TOEFL Junior Tests at a Glance

The TOEFL Junior® Tests Overview

TOEFL Junior Standard Test

Delivered on paper or digitally, the TOEFL Junior Standard test measures listening comprehension, language form and meaning, and reading comprehension.

TOEFL Junior Speaking Test

A digitally delivered test that measures your ability to communicate orally in English in a classroom setting, for students in middle-school or lower-level high school.

The TOEFL Junior Standard Test

Test Structure

The TOEFL Junior Standard test consists of 126 multiple-choice questions. It includes three sections— Listening Comprehension, Language Form and Meaning, and Reading Comprehension. Each section contains 42 four-choice questions with a total testing time of 1 hour 55 minutes. The table below summarizes the structure of the test.

Test Content

The Listening Comprehension section measures your ability to listen to and understand English for interpersonal purposes, navigational purposes, and academic purposes.

The Language Form and Meaning section measures your ability to demonstrate proficiency in key enabling English skills such as grammar and vocabulary in context.

The Reading Comprehension section measures your ability to read and understand academic and nonacademic texts written in English.

The TOEFL Junior® Speaking Test

Test Structure

The TOEFL Junior Speaking test is digitally delivered, and you will be asked to use a headset to listen to instructions and record your responses. The TOEFL Junior Speaking test has four tasks and lasts about 18 minutes, as you can see in the chart below.

Test Content

The TOEFL Junior Speaking test measures your ability to communicate orally in English in a classroom setting in middle-school or lower-level high school. While taking the test, you will wear headphones and look at the digital screen to be able to both listen to and follow the directions. You will speak into a microphone to record your responses to the four tasks. Here is a description of the types of tasks you will perform:

Task 1: Read Aloud

You will have one minute to read a short passage to yourself quietly, followed by one minute to read the passage aloud into the microphone.

Task 2: Picture Narration

You will see six pictures, and tell the story that the pictures show. You will have one minute to prepare your story, followed by one minute to record your story into the microphone.

Task 3: Non-academic Listen-Speak

You will listen to a teacher or a group of students talking about a school-related topic, and talk about what you heard. You may take notes as you listen. You will have 45 seconds to prepare, followed by one minute to record your answer into the microphone.

Task 4: Academic Listen-Speak

First you will listen to a teacher talking about an academic topic. Then you will talk about what you heard. You may take notes as you listen. You will have 45 seconds to prepare and one minute to record your answer into the microphone.

How to Get Ready to Take the TOEFL Junior Tests

No single school, textbook, or method of study is best to help prepare a test taker for the test, since the tests are not based on a specific course of instruction. Strong language proficiency can be achieved only after a relatively long period of study and practice. An attempt to study English for the first time shortly before taking the test will not be helpful.

The TOEFL Junior Standard test is not a “pass/fail” test. You are not expected to answer all of the questions correctly. The test is designed to be a tool that measures improvement over time. Students taking a regular English curriculum should show gains in their scores if they take a form of the TOEFL Junior Standard test every 6 months or so.

Before taking the TOEFL Junior Tests, it is important to become familiar with the test format and question types. Please see the resources for more detailed information.

Resources

Handbook for the TOEFL Junior® Tests

The TOEFL Junior® Standard Practice Tests 1

The TOEFL Junior® Standard Practice Tests 2

The TOEFL Junior® Speaking Sample Questions and Sample Responses

English Learning Center for the TOEFL Junior Tests: An interactive online learning platform designed to enhance all 4 English-language skills through additional classroom activities.

TOEFL Junior Standard Test Scores

Score Reports

Each TOEFL Junior Standard score report provides:

An overall score level accompanied by an overall performance descriptor
A total score calculated from the Listening Comprehension, Language Form and Meaning, and Reading Comprehension section scores
A description of the English-language abilities typical of test takers scoring within a particular scaled score range to help identify strengths and areas for improvement (See Appendix pages 41–42 for all Performance Descriptors)
Section test scores which are mapped to levels of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)
A Lexile® measure to help you find books at your English reading level

For more information on how to interpret the scores, please click here.

Download PDF

Overall Score Levels

The table below shows the TOEFL Junior Standard overall score levels, total scores, overall performance descriptors, and CEFR profiles. Overall Performance Descriptors are modified to reflect middle-school age student ability required in institutions where English is the medium of instruction and used to determine the student’s proficiency level according to the CEFR level.

Common European Framework of Reference

Your section scores will be mapped to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) to help you understand what your scores mean. The TOEFL Junior scores give you as a student the ability to see your level on a global scale.

Lexile® Measure

English reading ability is a rewarding skill, but it takes practice to improve. The TOEFL Junior Standard test provides a Lexile measure with your score report to help you, your parents and your teachers find the right books for you. Lexile measures are the standard for matching readers with appropriate texts. Millions of English language learners and teachers worldwide use Lexile measures to improve reading in English and track progress over time. With Lexile measures, readers at every age and proficiency level can find the right books to read and improve. The service is free and easy to use. For more information, visit www.lexile.com/toefljunior.

Certificate of Achievement

The TOEFL Junior Standard test Certificate of Achievement is an acknowledgement of your English proficiency.

The Certificate of Achievement features:

Your name
Your Listening Comprehension section score, your Language Form and Meaning section score, your Reading Comprehension section score, and your overall score level
Your test date and location
The administering organization
A format that is suitable for framing

TOEFL Junior Speaking Test Scores

Score Reports

Each TOEFL Junior Speaking score report provides:

Score level
Descriptors of student’s ability
Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) levels that show student ability in comparison to a widely used international tool for describing language proficiency

Common European Framework of Reference

Your section scores will be mapped to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) levels to help you understand what your scores mean, and so you can see your levels on a global scale.

Certificate of Achievement

The TOEFL Junior Speaking test Certificate of Achievement is an acknowledgement of your English-language ability. Certificates are not available in all locations.

The Certificate of Achievement features:

Your name
Your Speaking test score
Your test date and location
The administering organization
A format that is suitable for framing

These are the certificate levels:

What are the TOEFL Junior® Tests?

The TOEFL Junior tests are English-language proficiency assessments intended for students ages 11+. They provide an objective and reliable measure of your students’ English-language proficiency levels to help you make the best decisions.

There are 2 TOEFL Junior tests: the TOEFL Junior® Standard test, which can be delivered on paper or digitally, and the digitally-delivered TOEFL Junior® Speaking test. Each test measures different English-language skills. Both tests provide reliable administration and scoring, and scores are mapped to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) levels. Plus, TOEFL Standard Junior reading scores are matched with MetaMetrics® Lexile® reading measures so you can help students choose books at the right reading level to improve their English reading proficiency.

Learn more about the TOEFL Junior tests.

How are the TOEFL Junior Tests administered?

Depending on your location, the TOEFL Junior program offers institutional testing, in which a school or other institution administers the test to its own students, and public testing in which dates are open to the public. Contact us to learn more about testing procedures (PDF).

What is the TOEFL Junior Test format?

TOEFL Junior Standard test — a paper-delivered or digitally-delivered test
TOEFL Junior Speaking test — a digitally-delivered test

Learn more about test format.

What skills do the TOEFL Junior Tests measure?

The TOEFL Junior tests measure a range of skills:

The TOEFL Junior Standard test — measures Reading Comprehension, Listening Comprehension, and Language Form and Meaning
The TOEFL Junior Speaking test — measures oral communication skills in a classroom setting

Learn more about test content.

Who uses the TOEFL Junior Tests?

English programs around the world trust the TOEFL Junior tests to help them make the best decisions about their students. Score users include but not limited to:

English-language programs, for placement and to monitor progress
International schools where the language of instruction is English
Schools in non-English-speaking countries that focus on teaching content through English

How are TOEFL Junior test scores used?

The TOEFL Junior tests have multiple uses in English-language classrooms, including:

Determining whether students have sufficient communicative English skills to succeed in a classroom that uses English for instruction or need additional English support classes to fully participate in content courses
Placing students in English-language programs so they are matched with level-appropriate instruction
Monitoring progress over time to gauge learning and proficiency
Using “can-do” statements provided on the score report to inform conversations with parents
Advising students on appropriate book selections based on Lexile measures to improve their English-reading proficiency
Mapping student achievement to CEFR levels for international benchmarking

How are the TOEFL Junior Tests scored?

The TOEFL Junior Standard test is scored locally by ETS Preferred Associates and features fast turnaround time. For the TOEFL Junior Speaking test, responses are scored by ETS-trained human raters.

Learn more about scores for the TOEFL Junior Standard test.

Learn more about scores for the TOEFL Junior Speaking test.

How long are TOEFL Junior scores valid?

TOEFL Junior test scores are available for reporting for 2 years after the test date. After the time of testing, English-language proficiency can change rapidly depending on additional learning or development. That is why decisions involving scores should be made when the scores are obtained, because that is when they are most valid. Institutions can choose to use scores that are more than 2 years old as a record of an individual’s English-language proficiency at the time the test was taken.

How are the TOEFL Junior Tests delivered?

TOEFL Junior Standard test — a paper-delivered or digitally-delivered test
TOEFL Junior Speaking test — a digitally-delivered test

What research is behind the tests?

Like all TOEFL® tests, the TOEFL Junior® tests:

are backed by over 50 years of expert research
are based on thorough research to ensure their validity and reliability
reflect best practices in language testing

Learn more about TOEFL Junior research (PDF).

TOEFL Junior score reports are a valuable tool that can help you guide your students. They include scores, Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) levels, as well as descriptors of student’s ability that you can use to help students, parents and teachers understand students’ proficiency levels and progress.

Scores are useful for international benchmarking because they are mapped to CEFR levels. And TOEFL Junior Standard reading scores are matched with Lexile® reading measures from MetaMetrics®, which makes it easier for instructors to help students choose books at the right reading level to improve their English reading proficiency.

Contact Us / Order Now

If you would like to order the tests or learn more, please email Goal Testing at info@goaltesting.com

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