The general English proficiency test for 12- to 16-year-old students.
All the exams in the Oxford Test of English suite are certified by the University of Oxford.
The Oxford Test of English for Schools is 100% online and computer adaptive.
It assesses students' ability to understand and communicate effectively in Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing at three CEFR levels: A2, B1 and B2.
Take the Test in any of our Approved Test Centres in as little as two hours.
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Discover the full suite of general English proficiency tests in the Oxford Test of English
Content adapted for students 16 years and older.
A more academic and professional focus for higher-level Test Takers.
About the exam
In both exams, both the level and the format are exactly the same. What differentiates the Oxford Test of English for Schools from the Oxford Test of English is the content of the test, as it is adapted to the interests and experiences of a younger audience.
- Speaking – 15 minutes
Simulates real situations. Subsequently, a series of questions must be answered, which will be recorded. - Listening – 30 minutes
Conversations and speeches of English speakers. The student answers multiple choice questions to demonstrate listening skills. - Reading – 35 minutes
Texts of varying length and complexity. In this module the students demonstrate their reading comprehension skills.
*The second part of the Reading module of the Oxford Test of English for Schools is different than the Reading module of Oxford Test of English but maintains the same assessment objective. - Writing – 45 minutes
The students demonstrate their vocabulary and how well they know the grammar by writing a written text: an email, essay, or an article or analysis of a current event.
Results for the test are on the same day for Reading and Listening. Speaking and Writing results are typically received within 5 days. They are presented in a clear and informative report, showing the level of the Test taker in each of the four competences and an overall grade according to the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).
To better understand your results, read the Understanding Results guide.
Overview of every module
All the Oxford Test of English exams consist of four modules: Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing. The Listening and Reading modules are computer-adaptive, whereas the Speaking and Writing modules are randomized with questions selected at random from the item bank. The Speaking and Writing modules are marked by trained, expert assessors.
The table below shows the approximate length, number of parts, structure and content in each module for the Oxford Test of English for Schools.
The Speaking module has five parts. It takes approximately 15 minutes.
| Part | Task type | Number of questions | Task format | Testing focus | Detailed timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | Interview | 6 (plus two unassessed) | Eight questions on everyday topics |
| Preparation time: none Response time: Questions 1 and 2: 10 seconds per question Questions 3–8: 20 seconds per question |
| Part 2 | Voicemails | 2 | Two voicemails in response to two different situations |
| Preparation time: 20 seconds Response time: 40 seconds |
| Part 3 | Talk | 1 | Short talk on an issue or scenario |
| Preparation time: 30 seconds Response time: 1 minute |
| Part 4 | Follow-up questions | 6 | Six follow-up questions on the theme of the Part 3 talk | As in Part 3, plus:
| Preparation time: none Response time: 30 seconds per question |
The Listening module has four parts. It takes approximately 35 minutes. Test takers can listen to each audio twice.
| Part | Task type | Number of questions | Task format | Testing focus | Detailed timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | Multiple choice – picture options | 5 | Five short monologues/ dialogues each with one 3-option multiple-choice question with picture options | Listening to identify:
| time to answer = length of audio plus an additional 10 seconds |
| Part 2 | Note completion | 5 | A longer monologue with five 3-option multiple-choice note-completion questions | Listening to identify:
| time to read the task = 30 seconds; time to answer = length of audio plus an additional 15 seconds |
| Part 3 | Matching opinions with people who say them | 5 | A longer dialogue with five 3-option multiple-choice questions focussing on identifying opinion | Listening to identify:
| |
| Part 4 | Multiple choice | 5 | Five short monologues/ dialogues each with one 3-option multiple-choice question | Listening to identify:
| time to answer = length of audio plus an additional 10 seconds |
The Reading module has four parts. It takes up to 35 minutes.
| Part | Task type | Number of questions | Task format | Testing focus | Detailed timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | Multiple-choice questions on short texts | 6 | Six short texts from a variety of sources, each with one 3-option multiple-choice question | Reading to identify:
| 6 questions x 1 minute 20 seconds |
| Part 2 | Multiple matching | 6 | Six items to match with three profiles of people OR six profiles of people to match with four longer text descriptions | Expeditious search reading at local and global levels to identify:
| 8 minutes |
| Part 3 | Gapped sentences | 6 | Six extracted sentences are inserted into a longer text | Reading to identify:
| 11 minutes |
| Part 4 | Multiple-choice questions on a longer text | 4 | Four 3-option multiple-choice questions | Reading to identify:
| 8 minutes |
The Writing module has two parts. It takes up to 50 minutes. The tasks in both parts are compulsory.
| Part | Task type | Number of questions | Task format | Testing focus | Detailed timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | 1 | Written response to an input email. 0—130 words 20 minutes. | Giving information
| 20 minutes | |
| Part 2 | Essay or article/review | 1 | Essay OR article/review on a topic typical of classroom discussion. 100—160 words 25 minutes | Email
| 25 minutes |
Experience the Oxford Test of English for Schools...
...with the online demo
Take a single module or the whole demo test to simulate what it will be like on test day. For the best experience, please use one of the following desktop browsers in full screen: Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge.
Accessing the demo doesn’t count as registering for the Test and you will not receive results or a certificate.
Advice and practice exercises
A2 Practice Test 1
Oxford Test of English for Schools
A2 Practice Test 2
Oxford Test of English for Schools
B1 Practice Test 1
Oxford Test of English for Schools
B1 Practice Test 2
Oxford Test of English for Schools
B2 Practice Test 1
Oxford Test of English for Schools
B2 Practice Test 2
Oxford Test of English for Schools
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