Shorter TOEFL test set for August

A shorter TOEFL test with fewer questions in the reading, listening and speaking sections and less time allotted to take the test will be introduced in August, according to the test's administrators on Wednesday.

The test time for the Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL, will be shortened by 30 minutes to just three hours starting Aug 1, said Jobert Abueva, executive director of Brand Marketing and Institutional Sales of the Educational Testing Service, at a news conference.

"There will be no changes to the overall test format or question types, but reading, listening and speaking sections will have fewer questions," Abueva said.

And the new MyBest scores will combine test takers' best scores for each section from all valid TOEFL scores from the previous two years, he said, adding that all TOEFL score reports sent after Aug 1, regardless of the test administration date, will include the new MyBest scores.