How TOEFL is Evolving to Serve Today’s English Learners

_{February 07, 2026}

Quality, high-stakes assessments aren’t thrown together on a whim. They’re the product of intensive research, often over the course of several decades. TOEFL is no exception. In fact, it’s been the gold standard in the world of English assessments since 1964.

Over the past six decades, TOEFL has evolved alongside measurement science and language learning, ensuring that the exam remains a fair measure of academic English.

Today’s classrooms are very different from those in 1964, when TOEFL first launched. And measurement science has evolved, too, especially as computer-based testing allows for innovations like multistage adaptivity.

To maintain its global relevance, TOEFL released a suite of enhancements this year, including the adoption of multistage adaptivity in Reading & Listening, modernized topics and tasks, and a more intuitive, consistent score scale.

In this video, Karen Barton, Vice President of Assessment Operations, discusses these updates to the exam, as well as the underlying concepts of validity and reliability, two core components of a successful assessment.

She also addresses the particular skills that TOEFL sets out to measure, including a student’s ability to navigate modern learning environments, from understanding lectures to collaborating with other members of the campus community.

Karen then highlights the purpose of adding more variety and volume of task types to the exam. These updates, in short, allow TOEFL to capture a more nuanced understanding of a student’s readiness to succeed in English academic environments.

The work of psychometricians – the scientists who design, develop, and validate assessments – is often invisible to those who take or rely on the results of a test. But their work on English assessments serves as the foundation for international student flows to English-speaking programs.

Universities rely on TOEFL results to ensure students are prepared to succeed in the classroom. And students rely on TOEFL results to affirm their readiness to invest in English programs of study.

Given the high stakes, it’s worth exploring some of the science behind TOEFL, the world’s English test. Check out the video to learn more!