Educational Testing Services® is a private, nonprofit organization that develops, administers, and evaluates standardized tests. These tests are usually aimed at students in post-secondary education who are looking to enter graduate programs or who are pursuing a specific career path. The Graduate Records Examination® (GRE®), the Test of English as a Foreign Language® (TOEFL®), and the Praxis SeriesTM of tests for prospective teachers are among the tests offered by this organization. Educational Testing Services® creates and administers these tests, but it isn’t always involved in establishing guidelines for how different schools use the results.
Educational Testing Services® is well-known as a leading developer and administrator of standardized tests for a variety of purposes. The GRE® is one of the most widely used tests developed by Educational Testing Services®. The GRE® is a test used by students who are nearing the end of their undergraduate education, usually a bachelor’s degree, and who want to pursue post-graduate work on a master’s or doctorate degree. Analytical writing, verbal reasoning and critical reading, and quantitative reasoning or mathematics are the three main components of the GRE® General Test.
Educational Testing Services® also developed and administers the TOEFL® test, which is a widely used test. Graduate programs, as well as some undergraduate programs, in countries where English is the primary language, usually require this test for any student coming from a country where English is not the primary language. It is designed to assess a potential student’s fluency as well as critical reading and writing skills, allowing schools to ensure that students will be able to effectively attend English-language classes. Educational Testing Services® offers a variety of TOEFL® and other test locations in a variety of countries.
One of the main concerns about standardized testing is that the questions or language used can be culturally biased. For example, a test that asks questions about snow, beaches, cities, or other specific geographical conditions would favor students who are familiar with those conditions. Educational Testing Services® and other standardized test creators frequently invest a significant amount of time and money to ensure that questions are free of cultural, gender, or age bias. However, the success of such efforts remains a point of contention, and standardized tests alone may not provide an accurate picture of a student’s abilities.