please see my reply below:
Reference: IELTS-Blog
Today I'd like to clarify how IELTS, British Council and IDP are related, because many students and future immigrants were asking me this question “What is the difference between IELTS IDP and British Council and where the exams are easier?”.
IELTS was invented by the University of Cambridge, British Council and IDP all together. It so happens that in certain countries British Council is in charge of IELTS exams and in other countries IDP runs IELTS exams, and then there are countries where both British council and IDP offer IELTS exams, which people find confusing and are not sure where to go.
The most important thing for you to know is that IETS exams are the same worldwide, it doesn't matter who supervises the test, British council or IDP. We have seen many times that in two different countries people have got the same questions and topics.
As to scoring, there are two parts of IELTS exam that are clerically marked – it means that your Answer Sheet is being checked by people who have clear instructions what answers are to be considered correct and incorrect. These two parts are the Reading and Listening and for those it doesn't matter who does the grading.
For the other two parts, namely Writing and Speaking, it is not that simple. In some countries people are telling me that the exams at IDP are easier than at British council, but since the exams are the same, it can only mean one thing – the staff, the examiners who do the grading of Writing and Speaking are giving more favorable marks, compared to staff elsewhere. This is the only explanation I can think of
Dear all,
I do agree with Saed 2011. Its all same. As for myself, I enrolled both in BC and the institute where IDP over looks the IELTS exam. Trust me, I found BC and IDP are similar. Hard for me to quote, which one is bit tough. IELTS contains 4 parts ( Reading , writing, Speaking & Listening). In any case , I believe you will find at least 2 out of 4 sections reasonably tougher . It might be any 2. So don't bother for BC & IDP. Both of them are recognized. At end , it matters how much score you can secure.
You will be allocated very short time to answer 30-40 questions ( reading & Listening). So don't spend much time on one question. If you are not sure, skip it , try the next especially for the listening part. I found most of the candidates don't able to answer all as b'coz they wanna answer one by one. If you do so, you will definitely miss the answers for the next, cause the listening part is like conversation between parties. You are to pick answers from conversation. And the conversation shall not be repeated.
So cheers , not to worry for IELTS. I am sure all my friends here can do their best
Regards
Benidiction
