ETS Selected as the Exclusive Provider of the Development and Administration of Texas Educator Certification Examinations

PRINCETON, N.J., June 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Educational Testing Service (ETS), the nation's largest provider of teacher licensure assessments, today announced that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) intends to enter into a five-year contract with ETS for the management of the Development and Administration of the Texas Educator Certification Examinations.

Program staff at the TEA have been authorized to establish with ETS a development plan and schedule to ensure a seamless continuation of test administration and the rollout of new and innovative features.

"ETS appreciates the opportunity to continue the development and administration of the Texas Educator Certification Examinations," said ETS President and CEO Kurt Landgraf. "We are well versed in creating large-scale, custom assessments such as the Texas licensure and certification system, and will work tirelessly to provide excellent service to the state."

As the current vendor for the customized program since 2006, ETS administers the Texas Examinations of Educator Standards™ (TExES™), Texas Examinations for Master Teachers™ (TExMaT™), and other certification examinations. In addition, ETS has supported the TEA in overseeing the transition of a largely paper-based program into one in which 70 percent of the candidates are tested on computer.

Landgraf said, "The superior quality of our tests and the strength and accessibility of our computer-based delivery systems speak for themselves. Our objective is to work with the TEA so that the Texas educator certification program continues to evolve into one that helps assure that an effective educator is in every classroom."

As the chosen contractor, ETS will provide the TEA with high quality, valid, and reliable assessments that are responsive to the changing demands of preparing a 21st century teaching force and which will allow candidates to demonstrate their grasp of content and pedagogical knowledge and skills.

Within the period covered by the new contract — September 2011 through August 2016 — ETS will support the TEA's work on expanding educational opportunities in Texas and driving innovation in assessment.

In addition to developing new career and technical education and social studies assessments, work will continue to move nearly 100% of the Texas Educator Certification examinations to computer-based testing by the fall of 2013. Other enhancements to the program include:  a reduction in the score reporting time for paper-based, multiple-choice tests (from 21 days to 14 days); the capability of registering within two days of a computer-based testing date; and the implementation of fingerprinting as part of the check-in process at both paper-based and computer-based testing centers.

For more information about Texas's certification requirements, visit ETS's Texas state requirements Web page.

About ETS

At nonprofit 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 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

Contact: Jason Baran
(609) 683-2428
[email protected]

SOURCE Educational Testing Service