The Ministry of Immigration and Citizenship of Australia has decided to accept the test score equivalencies identified by Educational Testing Service (ETS) research for the TOEFL test when compared to International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores.

Issuing a press statement on Friday, the Australian Embassy in Kathmandu said the new score equivalencies will likely come into effect from November 5 this year. The ministry’s decision follows the approval by Member of Parliament Chris Bowen in May 2011.

“We are delighted that the Minister has agreed to the equivalency scores recommended by (ETS) for the TOEFL test as an alternative English language test for student visa purposes,” the statement quoted David Hunt, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ETS’s Global Division.

ETS recognizes the importance for both the Australian government and test takers in establishing reliable equivalencies between TOEFL scores and IELTS academic scores currently in use for student visa regulations, according to the statement. The decision was taken after testing on 1,153 students who had scores for both TOEFL test and IELTS academic module between 2008 and 2009.

Using a method of statistical analysis called “equipercentile linking,” the corresponding TOEFL score that would pass the same percentage of test takers for each IELTS academic score was obtained, the statement added.

source: The Kathmandu Post, 14 Oct 2011