• 1 1 The number of 400 was suggested based on the experiences and observations of test
developers and users from the field. About 25% of examinees in the worldwide TOEIC Listening
and Reading test population scored below a combined total score of 400.
TOEIC Compendium 9.3
task has only one question, and examinees are required to write an essay to express reasons, ideas,
evidence and explanations to support an opinion on an issue that could be discussed in daily life or in
the workplace. See Table 5 for examples of the TOEIC Writing test questions from the two test forms.
The three claims for each of the TOEIC Speaking and Writing tests were created with an increasing
level of complexity and difficulty. The tasks measuring Claim 1 are the least demanding and are
assumed to be the easiest, while the tasks measuring Claim 3 are the most difficult and most
demanding. Since the nature of the tasks and responses differ, rating scales with different score ranges
were required. From the designer’s point of view, a scoring scale with a few points (0-3) is considered
to be more appropriate for the less demanding tasks, like those measuring Claim 1; a more detailed
scale (0-5) is more appropriate for the more demanding and difficult tasks, like those measuring Claim
3 (Hines, 2009).