Oxford Test of English

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About the test
Oxford Test of English
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The Oxford Test of English is an affordable, personalized test that fits you. 100% online, it's flexible, fast and available at Approved Test Centres worldwide. Plus, it's the only proficiency test certified by the University of Oxford.

The Oxford Test of English was shortlisted for ‘best in summative assessment’ at the 2020 e-Assessment Awards, which highlight and celebrate “the outstanding and positive contributions that technology makes to all forms of assessment”.

Test format about the test

The Oxford Test of English is a multi-level, general English proficiency test which assesses the ability to understand and communicate effectively in English, reporting at three CEFR levels: B2, B1, and A2.

The test covers all four skills: Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing.

The Reading and Listening modules are computer adaptive, which means that the test adjusts the difficulty of questions based on the test taker's responses, making the test more motivating, shorter, and giving a more precise measurement than traditional proficiency tests.

The Speaking and Writing modules use task randomization, making each test an individualized experience.

Overview of the Oxford Test of English structure

Module
No. parts
No. tasks
No. items
Timing (minutes)
Module
Speaking
No. parts
4
No. tasks
6
No. items
15
Timing (minutes)
Approximately 15
Module
Listening
No. parts
4
No. tasks
12
No. items
20
Timing (minutes)
Approximately 30
Module
Reading
No. parts
4
No. tasks
9
No. items
22
Timing (minutes)
35
Module
Writing
No. parts
2
No. tasks
2
No. items
2
Timing (minutes)
45
Module
TOTAL
No. parts
14
No. tasks
29
No. items
59
Timing (minutes)
Approximately 2 hours

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Speaking – Approximately 15 minutes

Part 1

Interview
Eight questions on everyday topics

Part 2

Voicemails
Two voicemails in response to two different situations

Part 3

Talk
Short talk on an issue or scenario

Part 4

Follow-up questions
Six follow-up questions on the theme of the
Part 3 talk

Module overview

Listening – Approximately 30 minutes

Part 1

Multiple choice – picture options
Five short monologues/ dialogues each with one 3-option multiple-choice question with picture options

Part 2

Note-completion
A longer monologue with five 3-option multiple-choice note-completion questions

Part 3

Matching opinions with people who say them
A longer dialogue with five 3-option multiple-choice questions focussing on identifying opinion

Part 4

Multiple choice
Five short monologues/ dialogues each with one 3-option multiple-choice question

Module overview

Reading – 35 minutes

Part 1

Multiple-choice questions on short texts
Six short texts from a variety of sources, each with one 3-option multiple-choice question

Part 2

Multiple matching
Six profiles of people to match with four longer text descriptions

Part 3

Gapped sentences
Six extracted sentences are inserted into a longer text

Part 4

Multiple-choice questions on a longer text
Four 3-option multiple-choice questions

Module overview

Writing – 45 minutes

Part 1

Email
Written response to an input email
80 – 130 words
20 minutes

Part 2

Essay or article/review
Essay OR article/review on a topic typical of classroom discussion
100 – 160 words
25 minutes

Part 3
–
Part 4
–
Module overview

Module-by-module overview

Take the online demo test

Experience the Oxford Test of English with the online demo.

  • By accessing the demo you are not registering for the test.
  • You will not get results or a certificate.
  • The demo is free to use as many times as you want.
  • The appearance of the real test may be different from the demo.
  • You can close the demo at any point. You do not have to answer all of the questions.

Do you have any special requirements? You can view options here.

For the best experience, use the demo in a desktop browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge).

Download the sample test

You can download the sample test with answer key and audio files.

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Results and certification

With the Oxford Test of English, your overall level of English is certified by the University of Oxford. The results are ready within 14 days. Sign in to your account to see your results and print out your certificate.

Sign in

Organizations and institutions

Organizations and institutions are also able to independently verify the results.

How your certificate works

  • You are given a score for each module.
  • If you have taken all four modules you will get an overall score.
  • The overall score is the average of each module.
Module Score
Speaking
Taken 03 September 2016 		100
Listening
Taken 25 June 2016		 112
Reading
Taken 25 June 2016 		128
Writing
Taken 03 September 2016 		140
OVERALL LEVEL
B2
OVERALL SCORE
120
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  • The Oxford Test of English scale is from 51–140.
  • The scale is aligned to CEFR levels B2, B1 and A2.
  • This scale is used for individual modules and overall score.
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A2
A2.1
A2.2
B1
B1.1
B1.2
B2
B2.1
B2.2

Breakdown of the Oxford Test of English certificate

  • The Oxford Test of English scale is from 51–140.
  • The scale is aligned to CEFR levels B2, B1 and A2.
  • This scale is used for individual modules and overall score.
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Special requirements Special Requirements Banner

Oxford University Press is committed to making the Oxford Test of English accessible to learners with special requirements. For more information about the options available, click the links below:

For test takers For test centres

How the test was developed

The Oxford Test of English has been designed and developed over several years, with great care taken at each stage to ensure reliability, accuracy, alignment to CEFR, and quality.

Read the Oxford Test of English Test Specifications (PDF) for a detailed description of the development process.

A letter from the University of Oxford

The following letter marks the University’s endorsement and certification of the Oxford Test of English.

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The Oxford Test of English

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