Educational Testing Service

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Educational Testing Service
Type 501(c)(3)
Founded 1947
Headquarters 660 Rosedale Rd,
Lawrenceville NJ 08648 Flag of the United States
Website ets.org
Welcome sign at entrance to ETS headquarters in Lawrence Township
Welcome sign at entrance to ETS headquarters in Lawrence Township
Messick Hall, one of the many buildings at ETS headquarters
Messick Hall, one of the many buildings at ETS headquarters
Lord Hall, another building at ETS headquarters
Lord Hall, another building at ETS headquarters
Behind Messick and Lord Halls is a lake with fountains in the middle of it
Behind Messick and Lord Halls is a lake with fountains in the middle of it

The Educational Testing Service (or ETS) is the world's largest private educational testing and measurement organization, operating on an annual budget of approximately $1.1 billion on a proforma basis in 2007. ETS develops various standardized tests primarily in the United States for K-12 and higher education, but they also administer tests such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language TOEFL, Test of English for International Communication TOEIC, and Graduate Record Examination GRE internationally. Many of the assessments they develop are associated with entry to US tertiary (undergraduate) and quaternary education (graduate) institutions, but they also develop K-12 statewide assessments used for accountability testing in many states, including California, Texas, Tennessee and Virginia.

ETS is a US-registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1947 to take over the operation of the Cooperative Test Service of the American Council of Education. Starting in 1937, this organization pioneered the use of mark sense technology and the IBM 805 Test Scoring Machine.[1] The international headquarters is located on an 376-acre campus outside of Princeton, New Jersey in Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey[2][3][4]; processing, shipping, customer service and test security is in nearby Ewing. ETS also has a major office in San Antonio, TX, which houses is K-12 Assessment Programs division. The ETS Assessment Training Institute (ATI), located in Portland, Oregon, provides materials and services to teach educators the proper use of assessments. ETS Europe is headquartered in Utrecht in the Netherlands.[5] ETS employs about 2,700 individuals,[6] including 240 with doctorates and an additional 350 others with "higher degrees." Work that ETS does that is not associated with its nonprofit educational research mission is conducted by for-profit subsidiaries, such as Prometric, which administers test by computer for licensing and certification in the professional world, and ETS Global BV, which contains much of the international operations of the company.

About 25% of the work carried out by ETS is contracted by the private, not for profit firm, the College Board. The most popular of the College Board's tests is the SAT, taken by more than 3 million students annually. ETS also develops and administers The College Board's Advanced Placement program, which is widely used in US high schools for advanced course credit.

In England and Wales ETS Europe are contracted operate the National Curriculum assessments on behalf of the government. ETS took over this role from Edexcel in 2008. They have introduced greater standardization and computerization of the marking process[7] The first year of their operation was struck by a number of problems, including the late arrival of scripts to examiners and a database of student entries being unavailable[8]

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[edit] ETS criticism

ETS has been criticized for being a “highly competitive business operation that is as much multinational monopoly as nonprofit institution”. [9] Due to its legal status as non-profit organization, ETS is exempt from paying federal corporate income tax on many, but not all, of its operations. Furthermore, it does not need to report financial information to the Securities and Exchange Commission. [10]

In response to growing criticism of its monopolistic power, New York state passed the Educational Testing Act, a disclosure law which required ETS to make available certain test questions and graded answer sheets to students. [11]

Current problems with NCT testing in the UK by ETS Europe are discussed at length in the Times Educational Supplementforums, notably the English SATS thread.

[edit] Tests administered by ETS

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Elizabeth Rourke, Fredrick Ingram (1991). "Educational Testing Service". International Directory of Company Histories. 
  2. ^ Alan Stoskopf (Spring 2000). "SAT + ETS = $$$". Rethinking Schools 14 (3). 
  3. ^ "Board: New SAT to produce better writers", CNN, June 28, 2002. Retrieved on 2007-07-04. 
  4. ^ Randy Elliot Bennett (2005). What Does It Mean to Be a Nonprofit Educational Measurement Organization in the 21st Century?. ETS. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
  5. ^ ISTE 100 Directory: Educational Testing Service. International Society for Technology in Education. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
  6. ^ Jennifer Merritt (April 26, 2004). A Syllabus Way Beyond The SATs. Business Week. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
  7. ^ {cite web |url = http://education.guardian.co.uk/sats/story/0,,2277632,00.html| title = Markers become the marked in new Sats shake-up| accessdate 2008-05-17}}
  8. ^ Headteachers angry at Sats 'nightmare'.
  9. ^ Testing Giant Exceeds Roots, Drawing Business Rivals' Ire. New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
  10. ^ Teacher Watch: ETS Monopoly Continues. HorseSense and Nonsense. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
  11. ^ Educational Testing Service - Hoover's profile. Answers.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.

[edit] External links

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