A survey of English language proficiency tests in international student admissions at US research-intensive universities

Over one million international students are enrolled in US higher education institutions. To be admitted into one of these degree-granting institutions, international students must demonstrate sufficient English language proficiency (ELP)–often with a test score. Previous research on ELP tests has shed light on how scores correlate with academic success and how institutions make decisions about minimum required scores, but the extent to which US institutions vary in their use of ELP tests in international admissions is not well understood. In this study, we examined ELP test policies across all US research-intensive, doctoral-granting institutions (Carnegie R1) for general undergraduate admissions and graduate admissions. Results show that 32 different ELP tests were being used for admissions. The most accepted ELP tests were TOEFL iBT, IELTS Academic, Duolingo English Test, and Pearson Test of English Academic (in that order). A wide range of unconditional and conditional cut scores was found across institutions. Subscore requirements were not common. Institutions requiring higher ELP cut scores (specifically TOEFL iBT) tended to be more prestigious (higher ranked) and selective (admitting smaller proportions of undergraduate applicants).