[3] He also failed to convince the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, who had already launched STEP Eiken.
[3][4] In 1986, a newly created organization, the Institute for International Business Communication (財団法人国際ビジネスコミュニケーション協会, Zaidanhōjin Kokusai Bijinesu Komyunikēshon Kyōkai) (IIBC), took over the administration of the TOEIC from WEIS.
The changes can be summarized as follows: According to a survey conducted in 2006 by the Institute for International Business Communication (財団法人 国際ビジネスコミュニケーション協会, Zaidanhōjin Kokusai Bijinesu Komyunikēshon Kyōkai), 56.8% of the respondents who took both the older and the revised versions of the TOEIC test in Japan find the latter version more difficult.
In 2007 there were additional changes to the TOEIC Reading & Listening test that decreased emphasis on knowledge of grammatical rules.
The Speaking test assesses pronunciation, intonation and stress, vocabulary, grammar, cohesion, relevance of content, and completeness of content; while the Writing test assesses grammar, relevance of sentences to the pictures, quality and variety of sentences, vocabulary, organization, and whether the opinion is supported with reason and/or examples.
The tests are designed to reflect actual English usage in the workplace, though they do not require any knowledge of specialized business terms.
This policy has been criticized, as it makes state-awarded diplomas dependent on a private institution, despite the fact that it was not the private institution that set the 785 mark but a recommendation from the Commission des titres d'ingénieur indicating a B2+ level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
More and more companies use TOEIC scores for personnel assessment instead of the homegrown STEP Eiken test organized by the Society for Testing English Proficiency (STEP) (日本英語検定協会主催実用英語技能検定試験「英検」, Nihon Eigo Kentei Kyōkai Shusai Jitsuyō Eigo Ginō Kentei Shiken "Eiken").
The Institute for International Business Communication (IIBC), the non-profit organization that administers the TOEIC in Japan, was the subject of a scandal in 2009.
The magazine article concluded by asking why someone who is chairman in name only and works only one day a week should receive an annual salary in excess of 25 million yen (approximately US$300,000).
In August 2009, the online version of the English-language newspaper The Japan Times published a two-part series examining the TOEIC's origins and early history as well as the use of test-taker fees by the IIBC on the internet.
[3][14] The August 18 article examined the questionable uses of test fees, including a fivefold increase in utility expenses in one year, 13 million spent annually on research about adapting to Chinese culture, sponsorship of poetry readings by the Chinese Poetry Recitation Association, and membership fees to join the Beautiful Aging Association, for which Watanabe happened to be chairman.
The article also questioned the relationship between the IIBC and its for-profit partner International Communications School with which it shared office space.
The price had to be lowered due to pressure from the Ministry of Trade, which instructed the IIBC to reduce the profits being generated by the test.
[19] However, a person's TOEIC score is still a major factor in hiring people for most professional jobs in South Korea.
Starting in 2011, Korean universities were no longer permitted to use TOEIC and TOEFL scores as part of the admission process.
[22] Chun Shin Limited (Chinese: 忠欣股份有限公司; pinyin: Zhōngxīn Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī) administers the TOEIC test in Taiwan.
[23] TOEIC benefited from this policy and its lower registration fees, and became a popular test for English proficiency in Taiwan.
For example, Rosalia Wu, a member of the Legislative Yuan, used the TOEIC score to advocate English as an official language.
[26][28][29] The Center for Professional Assessment offers regular institutional testing every Monday through Saturday at 9:00AM and 1:00PM (local time).
In 2014, an undercover investigation by the BBC program Panorama exposed systematic cheating and fraud by a number of organizations and individuals involved in running the test.
Cheating was found to take place at Eden College International in London, where freelance invigilators used to conduct the exam.
[31][32] On 17 April 2014, ETS decided not to renew its license as a provider of a Secure English Language Test (SELT).