TOEFL Scores as an Entrance Requirement for the Department of English at the University of Qatar

Abstract

This study attempted to investigate the following questions: Is there a relationship between TOEFL scores and High School percentages? Is there a relationship between TOEFL scores and student performance in first year Basic English courses? Is the TOEFL score set by the English Department adequate for accepting students as majors of English at the University of Qatar? A sample of female student was studied; it consists of those students who applied to enroll in the English Department for in the Fall Semester of the Academic year 2002/2003. The study reached two main conclusions: the first answers the first question of the study concerning the relationship between TOEFL scores and High School percentages; the second answers the second question of the study since the sample indicates strong relationships between TOEFL scores and students' performance in first year Basic English courses. Based on these two results the study answers the third question with a recommendation that the department should accept students with higher TOEFL scores.