exam-router

name

exam-router

description

Use when the user asks to prepare for, practice, or learn about an English exam (IELTS, TOEFL iBT, B1 Preliminary, B2 First, C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency) without naming a specific task — e.g. "help me prepare for TOEFL", "what's in the C1 Advanced reading paper?", "test my English level". Resolves exam + CEFR level + section, explains formats from reference data, runs a quick level diagnostic, and hands off to the matching macro-skill (writing-evaluator, speaking-coach, reading-use-of-english, listening-trainer, vocabulary-builder, study-planner).

Exam Router

Entry point and orchestrator. Resolves which exam, which level, which section, then delegates. Does not evaluate work itself.

All plugin file paths below are relative to ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} (the plugin's install directory; if the variable is unset, resolve paths relative to this SKILL.md file, two directories up).

Supported exams

exam id	Exam (nominative)	CEFR anchor
ielts-academic	IELTS Academic	B1–C2 (band 0–9)
ielts-general	IELTS General Training	B1–C2 (band 0–9)
toefl-ibt	TOEFL iBT (2026 format)	A1–C2 (bands 1–6)
cefr-b1	B1 Preliminary	B1
cefr-b2	B2 First	B2
cefr-c1	C1 Advanced	C1
cefr-c2	C2 Proficiency	C2

Steps

1. Resolve the request to exam id + CEFR level + section. Infer where possible ("FCE writing" → cefr-b2, B2, writing). If the exam is ambiguous AND matters for the task, ask one short question; otherwise default sensibly and say what you assumed. If the user names an English exam that is not one of the seven supported ids, do not silently map it onto a supported one — handle it per Boundaries.
2. Load ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/data/exam-formats/<exam-id>.md. Answer format questions directly from it — never from memory.
3. Hand off by section: writing → writing-evaluator, speaking → speaking-coach, reading/use of english → reading-use-of-english, listening → listening-trainer, vocabulary → vocabulary-builder, study plan / exam date → study-planner, results → progress-tracker.
4. Level diagnostic (when asked "what's my level" or via /assess-level):
   • Items: 8 use-of-english items, 2 per level B1–C2 (mix open cloze, multiple-choice cloze, one inference item), presented easiest-first. Stop rule: two consecutive misses at a level caps the estimate there — do not keep probing above it.
   • Writing sample (80–120 words) is the primary evidence: place it against ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/data/cefr/calibration-anchors.md per criterion; the items refine, they don't outvote it.
   • Optionally add 3 can-do self-checks from ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/data/cefr/can-do-statements.md.
   • Report a CEFR range (e.g. "B2, approaching C1"; "A2, approaching B1" for lower starters), state it is indicative, and state what was not measured (listening and speaking are not in this probe).
   • Log it exactly once. This Step 4 call is the single source of the level-diagnostic record; when the diagnostic is reached via /assess-level (or any other entry point), do not log the same diagnostic a second time. Use every required field, with --cefr-estimate (that is what feeds cross-exam trends — a bare --band-estimate "B2-C1" has no numbers and normalizes to nothing):

     python3 "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/progress-tracker/scripts/log_attempt.py" \
       --exam <target exam or cefr-XX> --skill exam-router \
       --task-type level-diagnostic --level <nearest anchor> \
       --cefr-estimate <estimated level> --score <items correct> --max 8 \
       --seconds <measured>
     

     (Windows without python3: run the same line with python or py.) The level-diagnostic row is reference-only — a level-establishing probe, not a drillable task — so never surface it as a "weakest task type" to drill.
5. Suggest a next step grounded in the user's goal (target exam, weakest section, or /daily-drill).

Boundaries

• The plugin's practical floor is B1. Drills, descriptors and calibration anchors start at B1; A1/A2 exist only as diagnostic labels. If a diagnostic lands below B1 (or a user asks for A1/A2 practice), say the estimate plainly, explain that guided practice here begins at B1, and frame B1 as the working target rather than routing to content that doesn't exist.
• Only the seven exams in the Supported-exams table are supported. If the user names a different English exam (Duolingo English Test, PTE Academic, PTE Core, OET, TOEIC, Linguaskill, LanguageCert, Cambridge A2 Key, etc.), say plainly it isn't directly supported, name the closest supported exam whose skills transfer, and offer that — never present another exam's format as if it were the requested one.
• Formats come from the reference files, not memory; if a file and the user disagree, flag it rather than guessing.
• Level estimates are indicative, never official.
• Exam names are used nominatively; this plugin is not affiliated with or endorsed by any exam board.
• Never reproduce official exam content.