Despite the popularity of the TOEIC in the Korean society for over 30 years, few studies have investigated the understanding and usage of TOEIC scores in the Korean context. This research gap needs to be filled to provide test users with useful information in the Korean context. Using an argument-based approach to validation, this study investigates the meanings and uses of the TOEIC scores in the Korean context, based on analyses of records publicly available at the YBM website (i.e., TOEIC administrator in Korea). One hundred ninety-four documents published between 2012 and 2017 were collected from the website and the data were analyzed by combining the content and the context analyses. Findings reveal that contextual factors affect the understanding and usage of scores by different TOEIC stakeholders. The document data reveal unintended meanings and uses of the scores.

Scores on the Test of English for International Communication Listening and Reading (TOEIC LR) have been used for rolling-based university admissions in South Korea. Because this test is not designed for that purpose by the testing organization, there may be a need to explore the validity of TOEIC LR score use for admission purposes. Accordingly, this study investigated how admissions officers in South Korea perceived TOEIC LR scores and their uses and why they used the scores for admission purposes. We adopted a sequential mixed-method design (Creswell & Clark, 2011) involving three phases of data collection: (1) analysis of application handbooks to identify the questionnaire survey target, (2) a survey of faculty (n = 20) involved in admissions, and (3) semi-structured interviews with selected participants (n = 5) to delve into their questionnaire responses. The findings were that (a) almost half of the universities in Korea were implementing special admissions and accepted the scores on the recognized English tests; (b) use of the test lacks validity because most of the admissions officers did not view the test scores as an indicator of English proficiency and academic aptitude; (c) approximately half of the admissions officers viewed the scores as a reflection of an applicant’s effort, test-taking skills learned at language institutes, and former residence in English-speaking countries; and (d) the TOEIC LR scores were used due to a lack of other English tests as well as social pressure such as test fees and testing site availability.