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, OET, LanguageCert, Cambridge A2 Key / B1 Business, 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.