Distribution of Pauses

Responses with a higher Distribution of Pauses score (i.e. a low pause-to-speech ratio = fewer "unnatural" pauses) correlate with high TOEFL Speaking scores.

Overall Score

• Good: 26-30
• Fair: 18-25
• Limited: 10-17
• Weak: 0-9

What this chart tells us

For the Distribution of Pauses dimension, there is a strong relationship between pauses in your response and your overall TOEFL Speaking score. To earn a high overall TOEFL Speaking score, you likely need to produce fewer unnatural (i.e. long, misplaced) pauses than most other test takers.

• the Distribution of Pauses score for this response is 59 (i.e. it scored in the 59th percentile)
• 41% of all responses scored higher; 59% of all responses scored lower
• responses with a Distribution of Pauses score of 59 are consistent with an overall TOEFL Speaking score in the Fair range
• responses with a Distribution of Pauses score between the 66 and 74 had overall TOEFL Speaking scores in the Fair and the Good ranges (i.e. where the blue/green bars overlap)
• the Impact of this dimension is 3/4, meaning there is a strong correlation between Distribution of Pauses and your overall TOEFL Speaking score