TOEFL, GRE to be taken at home amid coronavirus outbreak

The Executive Director of the TOEFL Program, Srikant Gopal, told PTI, "Both TOEFL and GRE will be taken at home till the situation is conducive for tests to be conducted at centers."

Both tests are important for admissions in leading universities around the globe.

The monitoring of the test will be done using live remote proctors and artificial intelligence technology by ProctorU.

Gopal told PTI, "At-home solutions will now be available worldwide for test-takers who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic."

He added, "Precautions are being taken to ensure that the tests students will take from home meet the highest standards for validity, reliability, and security. These tests employ multiple best-in-class security measures that use both real-time human monitoring and artificial intelligence technology."

An official told PTI that the home test would be "identical in content, format, on-screen experience, scoring and pricing as those taken at a test center."

He said usual test features such as the ability to preview/skip questions and review/change answers on the GRE, and the ability to view reading and listening scores at the end of TOEFL will be available to test-takers.

COVID-19 was first reported in China's Wuhan city in December 2019. The disease is caused by a novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2.

The virus attacks a host's respiratory system triggering symptoms such as fever, cough, and breathing difficulties.

In severe cases, it may cause pneumonia, multiple organ failure, or death.

COVID-19 has spread to roughly 170 countries, killing over 53,000 and sickening 10 lakh.