As mentioned in the methodology section, the students taking this intensive course tend to be on the
lower end of the scale due to the nature of the course scheduling. The group average of the total TOEIC
scores from the past three IP TOEIC tests held prior to this intensive course is 363.1, which is considerably
lower than the department average score of 425. The lowest score from the group is 185, and the high-
2
est 540 (STDV=102.8). The average listening score of the group is 234.1 (Lowest=107.5, Highest=
347.5, STDV=67.5; cf., Department Average=263.3). The average reading score of the group is 129.0
(Lowest=77.0, Highest=192.5, STDV=37.8; cf., Department Average=161.7). See Table 1. Graph 1
and Graph 2 summarize the distributions of the TOEIC scores of the students taking this intensive course.
Graph 1 shows the total scores, and Graph 2 the reading scores.
Even though the overall level of the students taking the intensive course is low, four out of the 15 students scored above the department average of 425.0 for the total score. For the reading score, three out of
the 15 scored above the department average of 161.7. The top three students have both the top three total
and reading scores. Individual students’ reading scores are used as a reference in the following sections,
which examine the students’ performances on the timed practice tests, pre-test, and post-test.