Your English test is changing: IELTS goes digital, retakes by skill, and what it costs

Most students who take a language course abroad never sit a formal exam: the school places them by level and they leave with a certificate of attendance. But if your goal includes university, a work visa or a job that asks for proof, you will meet one of the big tests. In the last year, those tests changed more than in the previous decade.

IELTS: the paper is going

On 5 March 2026 the three IELTS partners announced that from mid-2026 the test will no longer be offered on paper. Everything moves to computer, with two exceptions that matter: Speaking stays a face-to-face conversation with an examiner, and in some markets you can choose to handwrite the Writing section only. The "One Skill Retake", which lets you resit a single section instead of the whole test, continues, as long as you keep the same delivery mode. Prices did not change with the announcement; they are set by each centre, and in Latin America they typically sit around the equivalent of USD 200 to 250.

Two weeks later, on 17 March, IELTS withdrew from the tender for the UK's new fully remote Home Office English test, saying that a test taken at home did not meet its standards on security. That decision does not affect you directly, but it tells you where the industry is heading: at-home testing is under scrutiny, and in-centre digital tests are the safe bet for visas.

The fine that explains the scrutiny

In December 2025 the English regulator Ofqual fined Pearson a total of GBP 2 million for three cases, including GBP 750,000 over PTE Academic Online: in 2023 impostors sat the at-home version on behalf of candidates and got past the remote invigilation, and nearly ten thousand results were later revoked. The online version was discontinued. PTE Academic at test centres continues and is widely accepted, and this is the point: if you are offered an "online from home" test for a visa or university, check that the destination still accepts it.

Retake one skill, not the whole test

The Oxford ELLT, a digital test accepted by a growing list of UK and Irish institutions, launched a Skill Retake in January 2026: within ten days of your result you can resit Listening, Reading, or Writing and Speaking together, once per booking, with human examiners. IELTS already offered its One Skill Retake. For a student who is strong in three skills and weak in one, this changes the economics of testing: you no longer pay for, and stress over, the whole exam again.

AI in testing: the rules being written

In September 2025 Cambridge published six principles for using artificial intelligence in language learning and assessment: AI must match human examiner standards, be fair across backgrounds, protect data and consent, be explainable, keep a human in the loop and be sustainable. A survey published with it found that cheating and "not testing real skills" were the top worries of the public. Expect AI marking with human review to become normal in the next two years, and expect the tests you take in a centre, with an examiner for Speaking, to remain the ones visas trust.

Where Latin America stands, and why that is good news

The EF English Proficiency Index published in November 2025 ranked 123 countries. Argentina came 26th with a "high" score; Peru and Chile were in the "moderate" band; Brazil and Colombia in the "low" band, both slightly down on the previous year; Mexico in "very low". Speaking was the weakest skill in more than half of all countries, and under-25s scored below older adults.

Read that as an opportunity rather than a verdict. The fastest documented way to move a band is exactly what a course abroad does: weeks of speaking every day. Schools abroad know the index too, and many now build exam preparation into general courses, so you can leave with the certificate and not just the memory.

Which test, in one paragraph each

• IELTS: the most widely accepted for UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, now digital in centres, with Speaking face to face and a One Skill Retake. Typical price USD 200 to 250.
• TOEFL iBT: the American classic, accepted almost everywhere, around USD 200 to 270 depending on the country.
• PTE Academic: fast results, accepted for Australian and UK visas when taken at a centre; around USD 200.
• Cambridge B2 First and C1 Advanced: certificates that never expire, popular with European schools and employers, roughly EUR 200 to 230 in Europe.
• Duolingo English Test: USD 70, taken at home, results in two days, accepted by thousands of universities but not for most visas. Good for applications, not for immigration.

Ask the school you choose which test its city's exam centre offers and whether preparation is included. In 2026 that question is worth more than it used to be.

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