TOEFL Primary® Tests

The TOEFL Primary Reading and Listening tests are offered in 2 levels: Step 1 and Step 2. Both tests measure young learners’ abilities to understand written and spoken English that they are learning in their classrooms and that is relevant to their daily lives. Test tasks require students to read or listen to information, instructions, or stories that reflect their experiences at school, home, and other age appropriate contexts. Test tasks are designed to assess abilities for fulfilling particular communication goals central to young students’ English-language proficiency development.

The Reading and Listening Test — Step 1 is intended for students in the earlier stages of English learning and covers:

• Familiar contexts (school, home, playground)
• Basic formulaic expressions
• Basic vocabulary and phrases related to common objects and people
• Short and simple requests and directions
• Short and simple text relevant to everyday experiences

The table below summarizes the structure of the Reading and Listening—Step 1 tests.

The Reading and Listening test — Step 2 is intended for students who have acquired some communicative English skills and covers:

• Basic expressions, requests, phrases and directions
• Simple short stories and conversations on topics beyond everyday experiences
• Unfamiliar words given sufficient amount of contextual clues
• Simple content-based texts

The table below summarizes the structure of the Reading and Listening—Step 2 tests.

The TOEFL Primary Speaking test measures young learners’ ability to communicate orally in routine social situations related to their daily lives. The TOEFL Primary Speaking test is only available as a digitally delivered test. Student responses are recorded through a headset with microphone via computer or tablet. The recorded responses are scored by trained raters at ETS. 

The TOEFL Primary Speaking test has between 7 and 10 questions, and it takes about 20 minutes to complete.

The test covers: 

• Giving simple descriptions 
• Expressing basic emotions, feelings, and opinions 
• Making simple requests 
• Asking questions 
• Giving directions 
• Explaining and sequencing simple events 

The Speaking test starts by asking students some basic questions about themselves to make sure their headsets work properly. Then, students are introduced to a storyline and characters who guide them through the test questions. The first prompt is an unscored practice question that gives students a chance to become more comfortable with the computer setup and the format of the test. Test prompts include audio, picture, and video elements. Each question has a time limit, and the time limit varies by question type. The longest amount of time allotted for a response is 30 seconds. 

Students can practice sample questions for the Speaking test online at TOEFL Primary Speaking Sample Test.

The TOEFL Primary tests are not based on any particular curriculum, textbook, or method of study. Because the tests are used to help teachers and parents understand student abilities and what students can learn next, learning for the purpose of performing well on the tests is discouraged. Instead, we encourage having students take the tests at different times during their early English language learning to monitor progress and make appropriate decisions for their future learning. 

The TOEFL Primary tests are not “pass/fail” tests. Students are not expected to answer all of the questions correctly. The texts on the Reading and Listening tests (Step 1 and Step 2) cover a range of complexity, with less complex and middle level texts on Step 1, and middle level and more complex texts on Step 2. 

Before taking a TOEFL Primary test, it is helpful if students are familiar with the types of questions on the test, especially if this will be their first test-taking experience. To ensure that taking the TOEFL Primary tests is a rewarding and motivating experience, we encourage teachers, parents and students to review the sample questions and handbooks below to familiarize themselves with the test format and content.

Each TOEFL Primary Reading and Listening (Step 1 and Step 2) score report provides: 

• A level for each skill (Reading and Listening) that includes descriptors of student ability and recommended next steps that students can take to improve their English  
• Scale scores that help show progress within a level when students take the test again 
• Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) levels that show student ability in comparison to a widely used international tool for describing language proficiency 
• A Lexile® measure to help select books at appropriate reading levels

CEFR Levels 

The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) is a widely used tool for understanding different stages of language development and proficiency. The CEFR provides descriptors of language performance across a broad range of tasks. TOEFL Primary® scores are mapped to CEFR levels, using CEFR descriptors that were modified to reflect the developing language skills and cognitive abilities of young learners. The CEFR levels are included in the score report so you will know about your students’ abilities in relation to a widely accepted international standard. 

Lexile® Measures 

The TOEFL Primary Reading and Listening score reports provide a Lexile measure to help identify books at the appropriate reading level for the student. The Lexile Framework for Reading developed by Metametrics® is a scientific approach that places both the reader and text on the same developmental scale, making it easy to identify books that match your child’s reading ability. More than 100 million books, articles and websites have received Lexile text measures. The online service for matching Lexile measures with books is free and easy to use. For more information, visit www.lexile.com/toeflprimary.

Each TOEFL Primary Speaking score report provides: 

• A level, shown as ribbons (maximum of 5) 
• Descriptors of student ability and recommended next steps that students can take to improve their English speaking skills 
• Scores that help show progress within a level when students take the test again (the score range is 0–27) 
• Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) levels that show student ability in comparison to a widely used tool for describing language proficiency 

How the Speaking Tests Are Scored

The TOEFL Primary Speaking test contains questions that ask students to respond in spoken English. Responses are scored by ETS raters using standardized scoring rules. Speaking score quality is maintained through multiple rigorous measures that include trying out new questions, requiring raters to pass demanding assessments before they can score any Speaking responses, the monitoring of scoring quality throughout live scoring sessions by expert scoring leaders, and analyzing the performance of the raters. The score range is from 0 to 27 and levels are shown as ribbons. Detailed information about the scoring of speaking responses can be found at Primary Speaking Scoring and Reporting

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