[2] A standardised language examination for foreign students enrolling in German universities was first proposed in 1996 during the Conference of the Cultural Minister (Kultusministerkonferenz).
In early 1998, the financial support from Foreign Office (Auswärtigen Amt) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) became available and German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) was commissioned to hold a bidding for the project to develop a central language examination.
In the same year, the contract was awarded to a consortium composed of the University of Hagen, the Department of Linguistic Research of Ruhr-University Bochum, Goethe-Institut and the Carl Duisberg Centre in Cologne.
[1] The primary target group of the TestDaf examination is the student applicants who have obtained their qualification in foreign countries but want to continue their study in Germany.
[4] In accordance to the Law of Higher Education (Landeshochschulgesetz), they need a proof of their proficiency in German in order to fulfil the language requirement, and thus TestDaF would be a useful.
There are also other target groups who would be interested to take the exam:[4] As TestDaf does not offer examinations in different levels, the question paper for all candidates are the same.
[2] If the candidate gets a score of TDN 5, it shows that they have a very good knowledge of German, above that required at the beginning of their studies.
[2] Empirical studies have shown that the TDN grades can be converted to the scale of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages as follows:[5][7] There are approximately 450 test centres in 95 countries worldwide, offering the TestDaf exams six times a year.
[8][9] the officially approved test centres, which are managed by TestDaF-Institut, are usually located at German and foreign universities and other higher education institutes, DAAD editorial offices,[1] Goethe-Institut,[1] as well as the Adult high schools (Volkshochschule) and language schools in Germany.
TestDaF-Institut claims that there are many advantages for the candidate to decide to sit for the TestDaF:[2] However, there are also disadvantages to the TestDaF, especially when compared with the Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang (DSH), which is likewise tailored to the language requirements for entering German universities.