
The GETS Higher Proficiency Test
Comprehensive, Accurate, Secure & Four Skills
The GETS Higher Proficiency Exam assesses English language skills using contemporary settings.
GETS Higher is four separate exams—Reading, Listening, and Speaking & Writing— that can be taken together or separately as individual test modules.

The test development is backed by years of research by Qualifications and Assessments International (QAI) in the UK.
GETS Higher is now available in Thailand!
UK NARIC Study—CEFR Validation
GETS Higher is the first English proficiency exam to be validated by UK NARIC.
They performed an independent evaluation, benchmarking the GETS Higher exam against the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).
UK NARIC is the designated United Kingdom national agency for the recognition and comparison of international qualifications.
It performs this official function on behalf of the UK Government.
UK NARIC has found the GETS Higher English language proficiency test comparable to CEFR B2 standard where a minimum score of 75/100 is achieved, CEFR B1 standard where a minimum score of 50/100 is achieved, and CEFR A2 where a minimum score of 25/100 is achieved
The Executive Summary details the UK NARIC approval, which validates GETS Higher as a secure English language exam mapped to the CEFR.
Who Should Use this Test?

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Schools and Universities can assess the English proficiency levels of their current students, enabling the planning of suitable language development programs. The test is also useful to higher education institutions as part of their student enrolment procedures.
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Corporate Training Companies It supports the screening of job applicants on the basis of essential English proficiency levels required for specific roles in an organization.
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Human Resource Departments use it to check the English level of employees and they can use it to decide what level of training employees need.

Results are Aligned to the CEFR
The GETS Higher Exam's results are reported in the GETS Scale of English and they are aligned to the CEFR.
You can see/download a sample Test Report Form below.
The Common European Framework of Reference—or CEFR—measures language ability in a scale of six levels, which start from A1 for beginners to C2 for native English speakers or those who have mastered the language.
The CEFR is the industry standard for measuring language proficiency and a key resource for educational policy worldwide.
GETS Higher Test Highlights:
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Assesses all four language skills (Listening, Reading, Writing & Speaking)
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Choose the full test (Listening/Reading/Writing/Speaking) or to take any one test module at a time.
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On-demand test dates (conditions apply).
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Quick result release (immediate to 7 business days).
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Writing & Speaking modules marked by certified examiners.
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Secure test administration.
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Internet-based test or paper-based test delivery.
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Communicative proficiency and use of English language in social, educational and workplace settings.
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Customization possibilities for corporate organizations..
Test Format, Task Types & Description
The Listening Exam
- 4 parts
- 30 questions
- Approximately 35 – 40 minutes
- Recordings played twice
- Approximate track length:
Part 1 = 1.5 to 2 mins
Part 2 = 3 to 3.5 mins
Part 3 = 3.5 to 4 mins.
Part 4 = 3.5 to 4 mins.
Listening Skills Assessed
In the listening module, the questions are designed to check a variety of listening skills:
- Listening for specific information and details (e.g. names, numbers, currency, timings)
- Listening for detailed meaning
- Listening for attitude and opinion of the speaker
- Listening for gist, main idea or overall meaning
Task Types
The question paper has the following types of questions:
- Three option multiple-choice
- Gap-fill
- Table completion
- True / False
Text Sources
The listening texts are adapted from authentic or real-world materials:
- Announcements
- Dialogues
- Discussions
- Interviews
- Lectures
- Monologues
- Presentations
- Radio programs
- Talks
- Telephone conversations
The setting of the listening texts are both familiar and commonplace as well as outside the usual experience. The recordings use a variety of accents: American, Asian, Australian, British and Canadian and others.
Marking: One mark for each correct answer. No negative marking for incorrect answers.
The Reading Exam
- Test duration: 60 minutes
- Approximate length of reading texts
Part 1 = 250 to 300 words.
Part 2 = 200 to 250 words.
Part 3 = 400 to 450 words.
Part 4 = 500 to 550 words
Part 5 = 400 to 450 words.
Marking:
- One mark for each correct answer
- No negative marking for incorrect answers.
Reading Skills Assessed
In the Reading module, the questions are designed to test a wide range of reading skills that include:
- Reading for gist and global meaning
- Reading for specific information and details
- Reading to understand the main ideas
- Reading for detailed comprehension
- Reading to interpret information
- Understanding attitudes & opinions and writer’s purpose
- Following text organization features
- Understanding text structure
- Understanding meaning from context
Task Types
The following types of questions are included:
- Gapped text
- Multiple matching
- 3 option and 4 option multiple-choice questions
- True / False / Not given
Text Sources
The test is designed using authentic or adapted real-world materials such as:
- Advertisements
- Articles from newspapers, magazines and websites
- Brochures
- Data information sheets
- Encyclopedia entries
- Manuals
- Messages
- Notices
- Personal correspondence
- Reports
Number of questions: A total of 30 questions.
Marking: One mark for each correct answer. No negative marking for incorrect answers.
The Writing Exam
3 tasks. Test Duration: 60 minutes
Approximate length of reading texts:
Part 1 = 35 to 40 words
Part 2 = 90 to 120 words.
Part 3 = 180 to 200 words.
Writing assessment criteria:
Ask Fulfilment / Test Realization
Organisation & Cohesion
Language – Accuracy and Range
Marking is done by Certified Examiners
Writing Skills Assessed
In the Writing module, the questions are designed to assess the following:
Task Fulfilment or Task Realization
This basically grades whether you have answered the question fully. It marks whether you have addressed all parts of the task and covered all requirements of the task sufficiently.
Organization and Cohesion
Organizing your writing, coherence and cohesion normally go together. It basically checks how your writing fits together. Does your writing, with its ideas and content, flow logically? Coherence is how you are making yourself understood and whether the reader of your writing understands what you are saying
Language – Accuracy and Range
Academic Writing requires the use of correct language including vocabulary, grammar, sentence construction etc. and being able to appropriately use precise language to present ideas accurately. To demonstrate that you have great language skills you must use a variety of words and a range of structures.
Task Types
The test taker is expected to be writing the following:
Task 1: Write an e-mail, note or a short personal letter. You must write between 35-40 words
Task 2: Compare, contrast and summarize the key points of input data or graphical information. You must write between 90-120 words
Task 3: Present a piece of discursive writing as a summary of the arguments for and against a particular view point and one’s opinion about a topic or subject of general interest. You may be required to outline a problem, present a solution or their opinion and justify it. You must write between 180-200 words
The Speaking Exam
Free Download
PTT Choose GETS Higher Exam
The GETS Higher Proficiency Exam was selected to assess the English proficiency levels of YP2G candidates in Thailand..
Young People to Globalization Program or YP2G is a Human Resource development program that targets talented young PTT personnel who are trained work abroad in PTT business ventures and development projects in Asia and throughout the world.
The GETS Higher English Proficiency Exam is the first proficiency level test to be independently verified by UK NARIC—the United Kingdom national agency for the recognition and comparison of international qualifications.
YP2G is an important PTT project that that has been cited by the Association for Talent Development (ATD), a world-renowned human resource development organization with more than 120 member countries from around the world
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