Measuring the candidness and value of the IELTS exam

It is no surprise that IELTS is held as one of the most crucial exams all over the world. There are thousands of students every year aspiring to get into their dream university, or a candidate after passing university hoping to get through the interview of one of those top-notch workplaces in English speaking nations like US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. For all these people and also for the ones migrating, the registering for the IELTS is the solution. The exam tests the English proficiency of these candidates on the basis of:

It is conducted by Cambridge ESOL, British Council and IDP where it has been seen in the last year over 3 million candidates took the exam across 140 countries with an increase in the digits this year.

Establishing the impartiality in the IELTS exam

The IELTS score holds a vital place in the majority of the universities and workplaces. A question often crosses the mind of certain candidates – how do the conducting bodies promise fairness and decorum to the IELTS exam? Let us discuss the same. The IELTS exam for quite some years has been relied upon for its authenticity, candour and unbiased functioning. As there are millions of candidates opting for the exam worldwide, their degree of authenticity is even higher than the rest of the exams.

How equitable is IELTS for the test takers?

IELTS exam dates are in abundance as it is taken throughout the world. Expectedly the candidates belong from different corners of the world with different cultures, backgrounds, gender or special needs. There is no room for prejudices in this exam.

• IELTS delivers a precise and accurate assessment of each of the four skills of the exam – listening, writing, speaking and reading. This means, each of the four skills will be evaluated in the same compelling manner and there will be no space for any biasedness. IELTS has certain predetermined guidelines and specifications to be followed while checking the answers and they are fixed accordingly.
• IELTS is designed with questions which test language skills and not professional ones. This mean, IELTS is an exam which tests the English proficiency of a candidate needed in academic areas as well as workplaces and therefore, the inclination is towards general English proficiency. The exam evaluates the general English knowledge and no candidate is needed to have the expertise – as the exam doesn’t want it. Mostly the IELTS speaking topics presented are based on real-life incidents and conversations that one might have. The IELTS writing also offers topics which will be needed to be written in their daily lives.
• IELTS concentrates on pragmatic communication abilities. IELTS exam focuses on examining the four skills by giving the candidates mostly communication questions which are needed for them to converse daily. These needed for the candidates attending universities to understand the lectures, strike a conversation with the classmate or faculty.
• IELTS exam is categorised into two versions:

1. IELTS Academic is opted by candidates who are passionate about pursuing their higher education in universities abroad,
2. IELTS General Training is for those who are interested in employment opportunities or migration purposes.

Therefore, it can be stated that the questions presented in the exam are both academic and non-academic based on what the candidate wants.

• IELTS speaking skill is a quite challenging one compared to others as it involves one-on-one and face-to-face speaking task. As speaking is the most common way of communicating everywhere, the universities while asking for the IELTS scores set sectional scores with IELTS speaking score to be higher than the remaining.
• There are different kinds of English and IELTS exam identifies all of them. It includes North America, British English and more. This way the candidates’ flair is tested on even harder grounds.
• The highlight of this exam is, the test questions are prepared by language specialists where item writers prepare the questions. They go through several stages of development where they’re pre-edited, fixed then again pre-tested by representative groups of people who’re preparing for the exam. This is done to ensure the questions are unbiased and are befitting for people of all groups.

Reassuring the authenticity of the results

The IELTS exam is designed with utmost fairness and rigid regulations.

• The test taker’s identity is checked thoroughly and in a very strict manner to ensure there is no fraudulent activities involved in the process.
• IELTS exam is a computer-based exam and its speciality has that no individual will sit for the same exam twice
• Double marking is a thing they keep in mind
• The IELTS test report forms are printed on highly secured security-enhanced papers
• IELTS also has an online result verification service

Validating persistent evaluation of the writing and speaking tests

Few strict guidelines are maintained while evaluating the writing and speaking tests. Let us study them in details.

• The IELTS writing and speaking tests are diagnosed by language specialists who are trained and scholarly people who have been certified for the same. They have a prolonged history in teaching and they are experts in certain specific areas. Further, they follow special guidelines for ensuring quality
• Featured writing and speaking performances are evaluated by the head authorities who are IELTS principals and examiners who provide their feedbacks by second-marking
• IELTS marking involves clearing the gap if a candidate’s writing and/or speaking scores are quite distinct from their reading and listening scores. These situations involve double-checking and solving the scoring issue
• As already mentioned, the IELTS exam is constantly checked. There is a continuous evaluation done of the performances of the test materials, test-takers, and examiners in relation to the regulations lined up
• It may happen that the test taker is not satisfied with the marks they have received. In this case, they can proceed with rechecking of their papers by some senior IELTS examiner.

After reading the above details, it can be stated that the IELTS exam’s procedure is extremely reliable and similarly unbiased from every aspect.