Year 2020 in numbers- 20% more test-takers, 500% more verified tests

The year 2020 was unlike all the others in our history. Global pandemic situation impacted everybody, including the need for English assessments and certificates. Recruiters especially in hospitality sector paused the hiring, study abroad became more difficult, assessment centres have been closed and many schools needed to quickly switch to distance learning.  

Luckily, TrackTest English Tests have been able to address these new challenges with their suite of online, full-digital assessment solutions, from the free placement pre-test to the core test (receptive skills) and the complete four-skills certificates with or without online proctoring/invigilation. 

Key figures:

We reported growth in all key products. We provided more than 320.000 tests in 2020.  We recorded a
significantly increased demand in our optional features: +390% increase in Speaking&Writing exams and +500% increase in Verified exams compared to the previous year. We processed the purchases from 127 countries, the United States was a country with the most purchases. 

During the year, we have also invested in the infrastructure and processes. Migration to the new dedicated server architecture and backend code improvements accelerated the average page load time by 11% and average page download time by 40%. 

The proctored tests have been verified on average in 3.5 days, significantly shorter than promised 6 working days. Our Helpdesk now runs on the new ticketing system which makes sure you get the answer to all your e-mail questions in a timely manner. 

New features:

We produced new materials for your better test preparation: the English practice test for A2 and the English practice test for B2 as well as the video from our raters with tips on how to pass the Speaking & Writing test.
However, the biggest update we have been working on during 2020 will be released in January 2021- the brand new 4-skills exam named the Complete test which replaces the current English Core test with Speaking&Writing.
For test-takers, it will perhaps mean only a small change in the visualisation of the results but that is only the tip of the iceberg. In fact, the new rating scheme used for the Complete test will contribute to the truly holistic, complete result and will provide a much clearer interpretation of the results. As such, this updated rating needed to be developed and tested for a long time. In the last four months, it was already used as the underlying metric for the all S&W ratings. 

Wishing You All A Happy, Healthy, And Successful New Year!