Test takers of the world’s most popular high-stakes English language test, IELTS, will soon have access to a new feature to help them boost the score they need to achieve their global learning and career goals.
Initially launching on a small scale in limited cities, IELTS One Skill Retake will enable test takers to redo one of the four skills (Listening, Reading, Writing, or Speaking) if they did not achieve the score they aimed for the first time around.
The IELTS One Skill Retake is a welcome change that adds more flexibility to the testing process. It is particularly beneficial for those test takers who narrowly miss their target score in one skill area. Instead of redoing the entire exam, they can now concentrate their time, efforts and resources on improving the specific skill where they fell short. This not only saves them from the added stress and preparation time for the other skills they already excelled in, but also allows them to more effectively focus on their area of weakness.
In the initial phase, the retake option will be available in select cities. This allows the IELTS administration to monitor the implementation closely, and make necessary adjustments to ensure it operates smoothly. Once this pilot phase has proven successful, it can be expected that the initiative will be expanded to more locations, making it accessible to a larger number of test takers. The IELTS One Skill Retake is a testament to the continual efforts by the IELTS administration to cater to the evolving needs of the global student community, making the test more learner-friendly and approachable.
Christine Nuttall from Cambridge University Press & Assessment announced that they are introducing One Skill Retake in response to test taker feedback.
“In any assessment, we recognize that test-takers can underperform for any number of reasons,” Ms. Nuttall said.
“IELTS One Skill Retake improves fairness by providing an opportunity to retake a single skill, if the test-taker feels their original performance was not representative of their language ability.”
They will share more information on IELTS One Skill Retake closer to its launch.
Date: 7 Dec 2022
Source: https://www.ielts.org/news/2022/announcing-ielts-one-skill-retake
