Ask yourself these questions

Arriving at an appropriate standard involves answering two key questions about the use you make of IELTS scores.

• What is the minimal level of English that would enable an individual to cope with language demands involved in your particular context? What kinds of reading, writing, listening and speaking are involved in this context and how well does someone need to be able to do these things inorder to 'get by'?

• How does this minimum acceptable level of English translate into scores on the IELTS test?

Answering these questions will require judgment on your part and you will probably want to take account of a number of factors in arriving at a decision. What might these factors be?

• Who are the most appropriate people in your institution or organisation to take decision on standards in this context (e.g English language educators/academic staff/students/managers etc.)?
• Should you set a single standard? Or should there be different requirements (e.g for undergraduate and postgraduate or for professionals in different roles)?
• Do you already require a minimum score for IELTS and are you and your colleagues satisfied that this is the most appropriate minimum score?