Methods of Oral English Proficiency Certification

Students may be eligible for certification of oral English proficiency by one of these means: 

• Their score on the TOEFL iBT Speaking section;
• Their score on the IELTS Speaking section;
• Their score on Purdue’s Oral English Proficiency Test (OEPT);
• Their performance in ENGL 620: Classroom Communication in ESL for International Teaching Assistants, an English language course in oral communication exclusively for prospective TAs whose first language is not English. Only graduate students who have scored 40 or 45 on the OEPT are eligible for the course.

See this flow chart for Certification by Test Scores (TOEFL, IELTS & OEPT) and Consequences of OEPT scores.   

Purdue Test Score Cut-Offs for Graduate Admission and for Certification of Oral English Proficiency

The chart below shows the cut-off scores (minimum acceptable scores) for Graduate Admission and the scores accepted for certification of oral English proficiency of TAs who teach undergraduate students, as of September, 2019.

It is important to note that the Graduate Admission TOEFL iBT cut-off score for speaking, 18, is significantly lower than the cut-off score required for certification of oral English proficiency for TAs, currently 27 on the TOEFL iBT.