TOEFL Nightmare: Inconsistent Scoring & Wrongful Score Cancellation

1. My TOEFL Experience

I took the TOEFL iBT three times within two weeks, all at home: August 25, September 1, and September 4. My experience was incredibly frustrating due to:

1. Inconsistent and inaccurate grading

2. Abrupt and wrongful score cancellations

2. Scoring Inconsistencies

📌 First Attempt (August 25) – Total 113

• Reading: 30

• Listening: 30

• Speaking: 28

• Writing: 25

✅ I felt nervous about Speaking but scored well (28).

❌ I was confident about Writing but got only 25, despite following templates, using strong vocabulary, and making no grammar mistakes. As a native English speaker, I was shocked.

📌 Second Attempt (September 4) – Total 119

• Reading: 30

• Listening: 30

• Speaking: 30

• Writing: 29

  
  

❌ Speaking: I performed worse than my first attempt—pausing for 5-6 seconds and running out of time—yet I got full marks (30).

✅ Writing: I followed the exact same approach as my first attempt but got a 4-point increase (29 vs. 25).

This proves how inconsistent and unreliable TOEFL's grading system is.

3. Wrongful Score Cancellation

📌 Second Attempt (September 1) – Canceled Without NoticeI checked my account and saw my September 1st score was canceled without any explanation or email from ETS. After emailing and calling them multiple times, they finally responded with this:

"In the quality control process, the ETS Writing staff noticed that your response(s) did not reflect a response to the assigned task. Further reviews determined that a portion of your response contained ideas, language, and/or examples found in other test-taker responses or published sources."

❌ I did NOT cheat. I had never seen the prompts before. Yet, they accused me of plagiarism without proof. After searching online, I found this happens to many test-takers.

4. Fighting Back Against ETS

At this point, I was desperate. My university application deadline was the next day, and I didn’t have my third test score yet. Since I had messed up the Speaking section, I feared a lower score, making my previous 113 score necessary.

🔹 ETS refused to show me any proof of plagiarism, claiming "security reasons."

🔹 I tweeted at them, had my family call, and filed complaints on BBB, but nothing worked.

🔹 I spent days calling customer service, begging for a review.

5. The Outcome: Score Reinstated (After Harassing ETS Daily)

📌 After my cousin and I took turns calling ETS every day, they finally reviewed my case and reinstated my September 1st scores. However, they were extremely rude and asked:

"Why do you even want the scores if you already got your result from the other exam?"

😡 This is ridiculous because I paid $220 for this test.

📌 Speaking Score Proves the Flawed Grading AgainMy reinstated scores showed I got 28 in Speaking, which was my best attempt—yet my worst attempt got a perfect 30. This confirms that TOEFL’s grading is completely unreliable.

6. Final Thoughts: Avoid TOEFL If Possible

🚨 Key Takeaways:

✅ ETS’s grading system is broken – you could score higher for worse performances.

✅ They cancel scores without warning or proof and refuse to provide evidence.

✅ If this happens to you, CALL THEM RELENTLESSLY. Ask to speak to a manager or supervisor. Don’t give up!

Shared by ToeflAdvice