Receptive-focused and speaking-focused proficiency in a Japanese EFL context: a short-term repeated-measures comparison of TOEFL ITP and Versant scores

This short-term repeated-measures study examined the relationship between receptive-focused English proficiency and speaking-focused proficiency in a Japanese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university context. Data were collected from 114 first-year Japanese medical students who completed the TOEFL ITP Level 1 test and the Versant English Speaking Test at two points during the first half of the academic year. Pearson correlation analyses showed strong and stable associations between TOEFL ITP Total and Versant Overall scores at both the beginning of the program and mid-program. When each score was interpreted using its test developer’s publicly available Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) mapping, however, the two assessments yielded different classification patterns for the same learners. TOEFL ITP generally classified students at higher CEFR levels than Versant, with many learners assigned to B1-B2 levels on TOEFL ITP but A2-B1 levels on Versant. Individual analyses likewise showed that TOEFL ITP-based CEFR classifications exceeded Versant-based classifications for most students at both testing points. This descriptive audit shows how two institutionally used assessments can generate different classifications for the same learners when each is interpreted according to its own developer-provided mapping. Because the design cannot separate construct, linking, and administration effects, the findings support complementary speaking evidence and locally validated, multi-source decision rules.