A large number of students going to the US switch to the IELTS exam, causing a surge in its popularity.

Close to one million candidates around the world are taking the IELTS exam, and China accounts for one fifth of this number. On January 22nd news was released from the British Embassy's Cultural and Education Section that the globally recognized "International English Language Testing System" - the IELTS exam - has been showing a sustained trend of increasing popularity in recent years; in 2007 it experienced an unprecedented surge.

The frequency of exams has increased and more testing sites have been established.

According to the latest statistics, about 938,000 candidates worldwide took the IELTS exam in 2007, double the number of three years ago. As one of the main sources of IELTS candidates, China also showed a strong growth trend. More than 210,000 people took the exam in 2007, an increase of nearly 60% compared with the previous year, setting a new record high. Even in Shanghai, which already had a large base, the number of candidates in 2007 increased by 32% compared with 2006.

The sudden increase in demand for the IELTS exam once put significant pressure on the registration process. In response, the IELTS organizers implemented various measures starting from 2007 to ease the registration pressure, such as increasing the capacity at existing test centers, increasing the frequency of exams, and establishing new test centers. In addition to the original East China Normal University test center, a new test center was added at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics in 2007.

A relevant official from the Cultural and Educational Section of the British Embassy stated that in order to relieve the registration pressure, the number of IELTS exam dates nationwide will be increased from the original 33 to 46 in 2008, the number of test centers will increase from 27 to 30, and the number of exam sessions will increase by 75. Among these, the number of exam sessions in Shanghai will increase by 29 compared with 2007. This official also advised candidates to plan early and determine their exam date as soon as possible.

Recognized by over 1,300 institutions in the United States

The IELTS organizers believe that a large number of students planning to study in the U.S. switching to the IELTS exam is one of the strong driving forces behind the global "surge" of IELTS in 2007.