A well-designed and developed test can still fail in its objectives if not administered in an accurate manner. Accordingly, ETS has worked to develop expertise in this area too. We rigorously monitor test administration and scoring processes; documented procedures have been developed to maintain the high level of quality all ETS clients are accustomed to. They can be sure of fairness and security in the administration process.

Generally, ETS tests are administered in one of four ways:

• Paper-based tests: administered in schools or colleges under standardised conditions; answer sheets are returned to ETS for scoring and analysis
• Single-purpose paper and computer-based tests: these are generally placement exams that may be administered on a semi-secure basis under the institution’s control
• Computer-based tests: administered at ETS authorised, technologically-enabled centres
• Internet-based tests: offered in a wide variety of testing venues; these are flexible since they do not require dedicated test workstations

The test scoring process too comes under ETS scrutiny. We have the capacity to score 64,000 tests a day. The scoring process includes rigorous and time-tested statistical-analysis procedures that ensure accuracy of scoring. In fact, today, ETS has the most sophisticated and reliable scoring process in use.

In accordance with an ETS quality standard that states that our products should not discriminate against test takers on account of personal characteristics, ETS is committed to accommodating test takers with disabilities or special needs.

For instance, ETS can arrange for:

• Additional time to complete a test
• Braille versions of tests for the vision-impaired
• Sign language interpretations for the hearing-impaired
• Customised presentation colours in computer-based tests

Read more  on our policy for administering our tests to persons with disabilities.