IELTS USA is proud to announce Andressa Valentin de Menezes as the recipient of the 2026 Andrea Scott International Graduate Scholarship. Andressa will begin a PhD in City and Regional Planning at The Ohio State University, researching how planning practice can address racial inequality and climate vulnerability in Brazil.
Her path to the US shows how language assessment literacy can help admissions teams make informed decisions. A polished application can hide the different paths applicants take to reach similar proficiency scores. Assessments that reveal an applicant’s pre-enrollment English experience help admissions and support teams create environments where all students thrive, not just those who sound fluent.
A research agenda rooted in lived experience
Andressa describes growing up in one of the “whitest states” in southern Brazil with little diversity. This experience led her to start the Encruzilhada Lab, an interdisciplinary group focused on discussions about ethnic-racial relations in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Since its founding, the Encruzilhada Lab, or Crossroads Laboratory, has provided support and community for Black students studying architecture and planning in the city. Andressa also served on her program’s Affirmative Action Committee, helping to write policies that lowered application barriers for underrepresented students.
The historic 2024 floods that devastated predominantly Black and low-income communities in her home state fueled Andressa's interest in interdisciplinary PhD programs focusing on how race, space, and public policy reinforce or address inequality. After choosing The Ohio State University, Andressa prepared for two years for IELTS because she knew she “needed to get close to academic English”, having learned it all by herself.
What the subscores show that the overall band can't
Andressa learned English on her own as a teenager by listening to songs and interviews from her favorite British band. She started her academic journey without formal English classes, and this self-directed approach helped her complete her master’s degree in Brazil. However, when she decided to pursue graduate studies in the US, she knew independent learning left a gap in her spoken academic English. "I have been translating technical terms to people and communities, so I was good at reading, but I could not communicate my research. I did not have the confidence to speak in English.” Preparing for IELTS, especially the Speaking section, helped her close this gap. The structure allowed her to practice speaking out loud, gain confidence in making mistakes, and improve in real time, which her self-taught background had not required.
What Andressa’s story illustrates for admissions teams
For graduate admissions, where teaching assistantships, seminars, and research defenses depend on spoken communication, Andressa’s story shows why distinguishing between an applicant’s individual and overall English test scores matters. When admissions look beyond the overall score, interpreting test results to assess readiness for classroom participation, research defense, or teaching becomes clearer. If policies use both overall and individual IELTS band scores for Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking, application reviews can flag applicants for targeted review or tailor enrollment communications to students needing improvement in specific skills. For example, admissions might highlight files where:
- the speaking score is below the threshold for International Teaching Assistantships, prompting a closer review
- students would benefit from early introduction or a warm handoff to the Writing Center
- the listening score is below the level where students can take notes effectively in an academic lecture
- scores are below the level necessary for sustained reading tasks
- students would benefit from connecting with language mentors or participating in conversation workshops.
Congratulations to Andressa Valentin on this well-earned honor. IELTS USA is excited to follow her research and her continued support for international students.
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