On the one hand, its gate-keeping nature can provide motivation for students to spend time improving their language proficiency before attempting the test. However, that same high-stakes nature can encourage students to cram for the test, and neglect holistic language development in favor of drilling test-strategies. In terms of results, the IELTS band scores do not encourage formative language reflection, as they give a single number score rather than more extensive feedback, which Brown and Abeywickrama say is useless to students.