TOEIC test takers participate in the Institutional Testing Program (ITP), a special session, given to a group of candidates for special purposes by companies or schools. / Courtesy of YBM Sisa

By Kang Shin-who
Staff reporter


TOEIC test applicants under the Institutional Testing Program (ITP), given to a group of candidates for special purposes by companies or schools, scored nearly 100 points lower than individual test takers under the monthly Secure Testing Program (STP).

According to YBM Sisa, the Korean importer of the English proficiency test, those under the ITP averaged 521 points out of 990 last year, while those under the regular STP averaged 619.

The Korean test agency said the median score for the special program is much less than that of the regular session as company employees or university students are mandated to take the special exam regardless of whether they are prepared or not.

“Normally, individuals don’t take the test if they are not ready, but those in the special session have no choice as their companies or universities require the scores for promotion or graduation,” said Hong Jin-cheol, general manager of the agency.

“This is one reason why the special program saw much lower results. The dominance of university students, who usually do better than company employees, in regular tests is another,” he added.

The significant gap between the two groups was also seen in the previous years; a 534 point average for the special program to 610 for the regular program in 2008 and 528 and 609, respectively in 2007.

The number of candidates for the special sessions reaches approximately 140,000, accounting for about 7 percent of the total 2,000,000.

Corporations and government agencies along with colleges are able to apply for the special sessions for a maximum seven times a year, as long as they have more than 40 applicants. Then, they can choose the test venue and time. The special program provides the results more than a week earlier than the regular program does.

About 350 government agencies and companies such as Samsung, Hyundai, LG and Korean Air along with 65 universities including Korea University, Hanyang University as well as Kyung Hee University and Dongguk University use the special program.

The companies usually evaluate their employees for promotion through the special test. Universities screen scholarship applicants and give academic credits to their students using the special tests.

Korea is the second biggest consumer of the English test, developed by the U.S.-based Educational Testing Service (ETS). Some corporations have either removed or reduced the TOEIC score requirement for employment and universities are discouraged not to use TOEIC or TOEFL scores for its admission process as an effort to reduce private English education costs that many parents have to bear. However, the test score is still a major factor in hiring for most professional jobs in Korea.

Those who are interested are able to apply for the special sessions at http://ipexam.ybmsisa.com