Developed and governed by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), a private, non-profit organization based in Princeton, New Jersey, the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) is a standardized test. The TOEFL test evaluates the proficiency of non-native speakers of the English language to use and understand the English Language as it is spoken, written, and heard in college and university environments.

Non-English speaking students need to submit the TOEFL test scores to enroll them in the program for numerous colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. TOEFL is practiced by academic universities in different countries where English is the language of instruction. The TOEFL Internet-based Test (iBT) has deliberately substituted the computer-based tests (CBT) and paper-based tests (PBT) since its initiation in late 2005. TOEFL Internet-Based Test (iBT) is also available in Nepal that costs $180. It consists of four sections:

It evaluates the ability to understand the academic reading matter. The reading part consists of 3 to 4 academic reading passages followed by comprehension questions.

It evaluates the proficiency to understand English of a student as it is used in colleges and universities. It consists of 4 to 6 lectures that include classroom dialogues and 2 to 3 conversations that include two or more speakers in each.

The speaking section evaluates the proficiency to speak English of a student. This test consists of 6 open-ended speaking questions, which require students to speak into a microphone. Responses are recorded and scored by human graders.

It evaluates the proficiency to write in a way that is suitable for college and university coursework. The TOEFL Internet-Based Test (iBT) includes an added 20-minute essay along with the current 30-minute essay.

TOEFL iBT is scored differently from the computer-based test: