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The past year has been a terrible one for the standardized testing industry, as colleges have shifted to test-optional policies and test cancellations have plagued administrations.
But even as colleges have gone test optional (or test blind), most have still required foreign students to take a test to demonstrate their English proficiency. For many years, the primary test used for admission to colleges in the United States was the Test of English as a Foreign Language, known by its acronym TOEFL. But during the year of the pandemic, an alternative shorter and less costly offered by Duolingo has gained market share. It was around before the pandemic but has taken off during the year of COVID-19.