Choosing Exam Preparation

Many learners study a language in order to take an exam: for university entry, a job, a certificate or personal goals. Schools advertise exam preparation courses widely, and the wording can hide a distinction that matters. Preparing you for an exam is one service. Being an authorised place where the exam is held is a different one. This guide explains the difference, how to verify what a school says, and what to ask before booking. It makes no claims about pass rates and does not suggest that any school can promise a result.

Preparation is not the same as testing

Exam preparation means lessons that teach the skills tested and practise the format, often with practice papers and feedback. A school can offer this without any special permission from the exam provider, although some providers have recognised preparation centre schemes.

An authorised test centre is an organisation approved by the exam provider to hold the real exam, under the provider's rules. Only an approved centre can run it, and the exam body decides who is approved.

A school can be one, the other, both or neither. The wording "exam centre", "exam partner" or "official" in a brochure may refer to either, so ask which. Never assume that a school that teaches an exam course also runs the exam.

Check the exam body's own information

The reliable way to confirm a school's status is to look at the exam provider's own website. Each provider has its own system. These examples are pointers to the providers' pages as we found them; check the current version.

• IELTS. The official IELTS site says the test is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP IELTS, and Cambridge University Press & Assessment, and lists three test types: IELTS Academic, IELTS General Training and IELTS for UKVI. It links to a test centres page from its booking menu.
• TOEFL. The ETS TOEFL page describes TOEFL iBT as measuring academic English skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), and says you can test at home online or at a test center, with the same scoring either way.
• Cambridge English. The Cambridge English exams page describes a progression from Pre A1 Starters to C2 Proficiency, and lists "Find an exam centre" separately from "Preparation centres". The existence of two separate lists is a useful reminder that preparation and testing are different roles.
• DELE (Spanish). The DELE site says the diplomas are granted by Spain's Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, that Instituto Cervantes organises the exam sessions, and that Universidad de Salamanca designs the exams and handles grading. It has a separate page for exam centres, and the schools shown there under "DELE Courses" are preparation courses, not confirmed exam centres.
• DELF/DALF (French) and Goethe exams (German). These are run by their own issuing bodies, which publish their own lists of centres. We could not retrieve their pages when preparing this guide, so we do not describe them here. Go to the issuing body directly.
• JLPT (Japanese). The JLPT official site says it is run by the Japan Foundation and Japan Educational Exchanges and Services, and lists test dates. Check it for dates and registration in your country.
• TOPIK (Korean). The TOPIK site is the official point of reference; we could only retrieve its title, so check it directly for details of the test and where it is held.
• HSK (Chinese). The Chinese Tests Service site offers "Find a Test Center" and "View Test Dates", and lists paper-based, internet-based at a test center, and internet-based at home options.

If your exam is not listed here, search for its issuing organisation and use only its official site.

How to verify a school's claim

1. Ask the school precisely: "Are you an authorised test centre for this exam, or do you prepare students who then sit the exam elsewhere?"
2. Find the exam provider's official centre list or locator.
3. Check that the school's name and address appear, and that the listing covers the exam and the format (paper, computer, at home) you want.
4. If it does not appear, ask the school to explain, and ask for the centre number or approval in writing.
5. Check exam dates. Exams may be offered only on set dates, and registration may close weeks before. The school's course calendar and the exam calendar may not line up.

Lists change, so check on the day you book, not weeks earlier.

What a good preparation course describes

Look for specifics:

• Which exam and which version or level the course prepares for.
• How many hours of the course are devoted to each part of the exam.
• Whether you will take practice papers under timed conditions, and how they are marked and returned.
• The teacher's experience with this exam, as the school states it.
• How the course relates to your current level. Read understanding course levels; a school's level does not convert into an exam result.
• Whether materials and mock exams are included in the fee.

Be careful with claims such as "guaranteed result", "high success rate" or "our students always pass". We publish no pass rates and give no weight to unverifiable ones. A school can offer practice and feedback; it cannot decide your score.

Exam fees and bookings

Exam fees are normally separate from tuition. Ask who collects them: you may pay the exam provider or the centre directly. Ask what happens if you miss the exam, if you fall ill, or if the date changes, as policies come from the exam provider and the centre. See tuition and total costs.

Timing and length

A preparation course is only useful if it ends before the exam with time to spare, and if the exam date fits your plans. If you need the result for an application with a deadline, ask the exam provider how long results take to be released, and plan with some margin. Check whether the result remains valid for as long as the institution requiring it expects; the requiring institution, such as a university or employer, sets that rule.

Online preparation and online exams

Some exams can be taken at home and some only at a centre. Match your preparation to the format you will face, and check the provider's rules about equipment and environment. See online versus in-person courses.

Questions to ask the school

• Do you only prepare students, or are you also an authorised test centre for this exam?
• Where can I verify that on the exam provider's own site?
• How many hours of the course focus on each part of the exam?
• What practice tests are included, and how is feedback given?
• Which exam dates and formats can I register for from here?
• Are exam fees included? Who collects them?
• What if I need to change my exam date?

Limitations

Exam rules, formats and centres change, and we describe the providers' sites only as they appeared on 17 October 2026. Always follow the exam provider's own instructions, and do not rely on a school's statement without checking.