ETS Offers New Options to Assess Learning Outcomes of Remote Students

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Off-Campus Testing Now Available for ETS Student Learning Outcomes Assessments

PRINCETON, N.J., Sept. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Recognizing the rapidly growing trend that leaves some institutions unsure of how to test large groups of students who may not be on a traditional campus, ETS has expanded testing options for its student learning outcomes assessments to include remote proctoring and off-campus testing.

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"With these new options, institutions can now use the ETS^® Proficiency Profile, ETS^® Major Field Tests (MFT) and iSkills™ Assessment to test the growing population of students who are remote or taking courses online," says David Payne, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Higher Education Division at ETS. "Higher education institutions are experiencing increased pressure for accountability in this fast-changing and complex educational environment, and we realize the heightened need to assess student learning in a flexible way. Not everyone is located on the traditional campus."

In coordination with ProctorU and ProctorCam, institutions can now administer the ETS Proficiency Profile and iSkills assessment remotely so that any student at any location, including a home or office, with the appropriate technology — a computer and webcam — can take the test. Off-campus testing, now available for two of the most popular titles, Bachelor's Degree in Business and Master's in Business Administration, allows institutions to utilize secure test centers across the country through ETS's wholly owned subsidiary Prometric, thereby giving schools a much larger testing footprint.

"At Quinnipiac, we are committed to measuring student learning outcomes so that we can be sure that we are providing a curriculum that is accomplishing the goals that have been established for it," says Susan McTiernan, Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Associate Professor of Management in the School of Business at Quinnipiac University. "With more and more students preferring flexibility in the way that they learn, including the online environment, the ability to administer the ETS Major Field Test off-campus in a secure setting enables us to measure evidence of learning from more of our students than ever before. Thorough review and analysis of the results, along with internal measures, ultimately leads to accomplishing our goals of continuous improvement and provision of the best education to our students."

The ETS Major Field Tests are robust undergraduate and MBA outcomes assessments designed to measure the critical knowledge and understanding obtained by students in a major field of study. Off-campus testing is available for the MFT for Bachelor's Degree in Business and the MFT for MBA. However, students in undergraduate and MBA programs may take the MFT on campus in all of the following fields of study: biology, chemistry, computer science, criminal justice, economics, literature in English, mathematics, music, physics, political science, psychology, sociology, Associate Degree in Business, Bachelor's Degree in Business, and Master's in Business Administration.

The ETS Proficiency Profile and iSkills assessment are focused more on general education skills and 21st-century skills, respectively, which are a growing area of interest for institutions. The ETS Proficiency Profile assesses four core skill areas — critical thinking, reading, writing and mathematics — in a single test and can provide detailed information on student and group performance. The iSkills assessment measures an individual's ability to navigate, critically evaluate and make sense of the wealth of information available through digital technology. Those who take the iSkills assessment and ETS Proficiency Profile standard form now have the opportunity to earn an electronic performance-level certificate that can be shared with an unlimited number of recipients in academia and beyond. In addition to institutions' testing programs, test takers who choose to test individually through StraighterLine can also earn these certificates. To find out more about testing through StraighterLine visit their website pages for the ETS Proficiency Profile and iSkills Assessment.

For more information on the expanded testing options and the certificates to address accreditation requirements and student learning outcomes measurement, visit the ETS Proficiency Profile, iSkills Assessment and ETS MFT websites.

About ETS

At ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and post-secondary education, as well as conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded as a nonprofit in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually — including the TOEFL^® and TOEIC^® tests, the GRE^® tests and The Praxis Series™ assessments — in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide.

www.ets.org

SOURCE Educational Testing Service