English assessments and requirements for non-native speakers

Earlier this Spring, all of our incoming students for whom English is not their native language were required to take the Oral Proficiency Assessment (OPA), which measures a student’s level of fluency in spoken English and determines which spoken English courses, if any, each student has to take and if the student will hold a GTA or GAA position during the Autumn 2017 semester. However, there is one additional assessment – the ESL Composition Placement Test – that all non-native speakers are required to take and for which they will be assigned a testing date and time during their check-in with OIA. The biggest difference (from a programmatic perspective) between the Oral Proficiency Assessment and the English Composition Placement Test is that the result of the English Composition Placement Test does not impact one’s ability to hold a GTA appointment. Also, a student is exempt from taking the ESL Composition Placement Test ONLY if one of the following criteria have been met:

  • TOEFL (iBT)
    • 114 or higher
    • 101 or higher and a 28 on the Writing section
  • TOEFL (computer based)
    • 280 or higher, or
    • 253 or higher and 5.0 on the TOEFL Essay
  • TOEFL (paper based)
    • 650 or higher, or
    • 610 or higher and 5.0 on the Test of Written English
  • IELTS
    • 9.0 or higher (Overall Band Score)
    • 8.0 or higher (Overall Band Score) and 8.0 Academic Writing module
  • Citizens of the following countries or regions: Australia, Belize, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, Liberia, United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland), British Caribbean and British West Indies countries, and the United States.
  • Students who graduated from an academic program at The Ohio State University. A degree from other universities in English speaking countries does not meet this exemption.

For those who are not exempt, the result of the ESL Composition Placement Test will either be placement into EDUTL 5901 or EDUTL 5902 or a  “Q”, which indicates that no ESL composition courses are required. Students who are required to take ESL composition courses are required by the Graduate School to complete those by the end of Summer 2018.

Students who placed into either EDUTL 5040 or EDUTL 5050 as a result of their OPA must take the required course during the Autumn semester and must continue to enroll in the required spoken English course and take all semesterly ESL course assessments (exit interviews and the OPCA) until full English certification is achieved. If, as a result of your OPA, you were recommended to enroll in EDUTL 5060 to receive additional assistance with pronunciation, please also register that course for Autumn 2017.

Below are the department’s recommendations for planning ESL courses for each semester during the first year:


More information about the ESL program and the spoken English and composition courses can be found online at

Graduate Teaching Associates – Spoken English

https://esl.ehe.osu.edu/home/testing/graduate-international-students/