Educational Testing Service facts for kids
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| 501(c)(3) | |
| Founded | 1947 |
| Headquarters | 660 Rosedale Road, Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. |
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Key people
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| Products | TOEFL and TOEIC tests, GRE General and Subject Tests, CET1 Exam by Certtia tests and Praxis Series assessments |
| Services | Testing, assessments and research for educational use |
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Educational Testing Service (ETS) is the largest private organization in the world focused on educational testing and assessments. It was started in 1947. Its main office is in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, which is close to Princeton.
ETS creates many different standardized tests. These tests are mostly used in the United States for students from kindergarten through high school (K–12) and for college. ETS also manages tests around the world. These include the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and the TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication). Other important tests are the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and The Praxis test Series. These tests are given in over 180 countries at more than 9,000 locations.
Many ETS tests help students get into colleges and universities in the U.S. They also create tests for K–12 schools in many states, like California, Texas, and Virginia. Each year, ETS gives about 50 million exams in the U.S. and other countries.
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How ETS Started
ETS is a non-profit organization. This means it uses its money to help with its goals, not to make a profit for owners. It was created in 1947 by three other non-profit groups: the American Council on Education, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and The College Entrance Examination Board.
These groups formed ETS to handle their testing programs. They also wanted ETS to do research to make educational tests better. For example, the Carnegie Foundation gave the GRE test to ETS. The College Board asked ETS to run the SAT test for high school students.
Making Tests Better Through Science
ETS does a lot of research to improve how tests are made and used. They study how people learn and think. This research helps them create fair and useful tests. Many smart scientists have worked at ETS. Their work has helped shape how we understand testing and education today.
Some of their important scientific contributions include:
- Item Response Theory: This is a way to design and analyze tests. It helps understand how well each question works.
- Structural Equation Modeling: This is a method used in social sciences. It helps understand how different things are connected.
- Modern Validity Theory: This idea says that a test is valid if it truly measures what it's supposed to. It also considers how the test results are used.
- Handling Missing Data: They developed ways to analyze data even when some information is missing.
- Causal Modeling: This helps figure out cause-and-effect relationships from observations.
- In-Basket Test: This test helps assess people for management jobs. It checks how they handle typical work tasks.
- Detecting Test Unfairness: ETS created methods to find out if a test is unfair to certain groups.
- Holistic Scoring for Writing: This is a fast and reliable way to grade essays. It made it easier to include writing in large tests.
- Occupational Licensing: They developed ways to set standards for job licenses and certifications.
Where ETS Works Today
ETS has its main campus in Lawrence Township, near Princeton, New Jersey. This campus is quite large. They also have offices in other U.S. cities like San Antonio, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC.
ETS also has offices in other countries. These are part of companies owned by ETS, like ETS Global BV in Amsterdam and ETS China in Beijing. Around 2,700 people work for ETS. Many of them have advanced degrees, showing their expertise.
ETS is a non-profit organization, but it also does some business activities. These activities help support its main educational mission. For example, some international operations are handled by for-profit parts of ETS.
About 25% of ETS's work is for the College Board. The College Board is another non-profit group. ETS helps with popular tests like the SAT, which millions of students take each year. They also support the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test and the Advanced Placement program. The Advanced Placement program lets high school students earn college credit.
Since 1983, ETS has helped with the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This is known as the "Nation's Report Card." It's the only national test that shows what U.S. students know and can do. ETS helps create the test questions and analyze the results.
Besides working for other groups, ETS also offers its own tests. These include:
- The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) for graduate school.
- The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) for college admissions.
- The Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) for businesses.
- The Praxis Series for teachers to get their licenses.
In England and Wales, ETS Global once had a contract to mark national school tests. This contract ended in 2008.
Tests You Might Know
Here are some of the tests that ETS helps create or manage:
- Graduate Record Examinations (GRE)
- Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT)
- College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
- Test of English for International Communications (TOEIC)
- Certified English Test One (CET1)
- Test de français international (TFI)
- California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE)
- California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program (now called CAASPP)
- The Praxis test
- The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
- The Examen de Admisión a Estudios de Posgrado (EXADEP)
- British Trade Test Institute (BTTI)
- Major Field Test for Master of Business Administration
See also
- SAT
- SPEAK (test)
