TOEFL: Highest average scorers hail from Dehradun, Guntur, Mysuru; details here

The TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) 2023 report, released recently, has thrown up a series of interesting insights. The data shared recently by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) showed that the highest average score in this English proficiency exam was witnessed among candidates from Dehradun where the average score of test takers was 105.6. This was followed by Guntur (105.5), Mysuru (104.1) and Delhi (103.5).

Most of the students who appeared for TOEFL opted for a major in computing and information technology (IT) at a foreign university in 2023. The same trend was seen in the past two years as well. 

Besides IT, other academic disciplines popular among TOEFL takers in 2023 were engineering and management.

For iBT test, top 10 cities in terms of number of candidates include New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Kothrood, Gurgaon and Mysuru.

"The trend of achieving the highest average TOEFL scores in smaller cities such as Dehradun, Guntur, and Mysuru shows the growing interest in overseas education among tier-2 and tier-3 city students," says Manisha Zaveri, Joint Managing Director, Career Mosaic.

What is TOEFL?

This is an exam usually attempted by the students planning to go abroad and considered by universities to test proficiency of candidates in English language. This exam is a trademark of the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which administers the test. 

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TOEFL has four sections: Reading, listening, speaking and writing. Out of these four sections, the most practiced skill among test takers was found to be ‘writing’, the data revealed.

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The internet-based format of the test known as TOEFL iBT(internet-based) was introduced in 2005 and has continuously replaced computer-based tests and paper based tests. 

Gender ratio and other details

Among the total number of candidates who appeared for the exam, 68.12 percent were male and 31.88 percent were females. The corresponding data for 2022 were 66.19 percent and 33.81 percent. 

Additionally, the total percent of test takers from India and China comprised 40.81 percent against 31.27 percent a year ago, which is nearly 10 percent higher than a year ago.

Notably, TOEFL is accepted by 100 percent of institutions in the US.