ETS Europe
Encyclopedia
ETS Europe is the Europe
an arm of Educational Testing Service
, an American company, involved in scholastic assessment in Europe.
It is headquartered in Utrecht
in the Netherlands
. ETS employs about 2,700 individuals, including 240 with doctorate
s and an additional 350 others with "higher degrees." Work that ETS does that is not associated with its nonprofit educational research mission is conducted by for-profit subsidiaries, such as Prometric
, which administers test by computer for licensing and certification in the professional world, and ETS Global BV, which contains much of the international operations of the company.
About 25% of the work carried out by ETS is contracted by the private, not for profit firm, the College Board. The most popular of the College Board's tests is the SAT
, taken by more than 3 million students annually. ETS also develops and administers The College Board's Advanced Placement program, which is widely used in US high schools for advanced course credit.
In England
and Wales
ETS Europe were contracted to operate the National Curriculum
assessments on behalf of the government. ETS took over this role from Edexcel
in 2008. The first year of their operation was struck by a number of problems, including the late arrival of scripts to examiners, a database of student entries being unavailable,[7], and countrywide reports of problems with the marking of the papers. The opposition Conservative party has criticised the awarding of the contracts to ETS, and produced a dossier listing previous problems with ETS' service.[8] Their contract with the QCA
was terminated in August 2008: ETS is to pay back £19.5m and cancel invoices worth £4.6m. The UK government asked Lord Sutherland to conduct an inquiry into the failure of the 2008 tests. The report http://sutherlandinquiry.independent.gov.uk/ included in its main findings
• primary responsibility for this summer’s delivery failure rests with ETS Global BV, which won the public contract to deliver the tests;
• ETS’s capacity to deliver the contract proved to be insufficient. A lack of comprehensive planning and testing by ETS of its systems and processes was a key factor in the delivery failure;
The ETS Europe website http://www.uk.etseurope.org/?yourcountry=UK describes itself as " the world leader in the field of educational and business assessment. At the forefront of educational research, and in the development of performance assessments, ETS ... offers reliable assessments and tests measuring English
and French language
proficiency, as well as customised solutions to European academic institutions, businesses and government agencies."
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an arm of Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service , founded in 1947, is the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization...
, an American company, involved in scholastic assessment in Europe.
It is headquartered in Utrecht
Utrecht
Utrecht is a city in the Netherlands.The name may also refer to:* Utrecht , of which Utrecht is the capital* Utrecht , including the city of Utrecht* Bishopric of Utrecht* Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. ETS employs about 2,700 individuals, including 240 with doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
s and an additional 350 others with "higher degrees." Work that ETS does that is not associated with its nonprofit educational research mission is conducted by for-profit subsidiaries, such as Prometric
Prometric
Prometric is a U.S. company in the test administration industry. Prometric operates a test center network composed of over 10,000 sites in 160 countries...
, which administers test by computer for licensing and certification in the professional world, and ETS Global BV, which contains much of the international operations of the company.
About 25% of the work carried out by ETS is contracted by the private, not for profit firm, the College Board. The most popular of the College Board's tests is the SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
, taken by more than 3 million students annually. ETS also develops and administers The College Board's Advanced Placement program, which is widely used in US high schools for advanced course credit.
In England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
ETS Europe were contracted to operate the National Curriculum
National Curriculum
The National Curriculum was introduced into England, Wales and Northern Ireland as a nationwide curriculum for primary and secondary state schools following the Education Reform Act 1988. Notwithstanding its name, it does not apply to independent schools, which may set their own curricula, but it...
assessments on behalf of the government. ETS took over this role from Edexcel
Edexcel
Edexcel, a UK company, is one of England, Wales and Northern Ireland's five main examination boards, and is wholly owned by the private-sector Pearson PLC, a UK-based media and publishing conglomerate. Its name is a portmanteau word derived from the words "educational" and "excellence"...
in 2008. The first year of their operation was struck by a number of problems, including the late arrival of scripts to examiners, a database of student entries being unavailable,[7], and countrywide reports of problems with the marking of the papers. The opposition Conservative party has criticised the awarding of the contracts to ETS, and produced a dossier listing previous problems with ETS' service.[8] Their contract with the QCA
QCA
QCA may refer to:* Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body of the Department for Children, Schools and Families in the United Kingdom...
was terminated in August 2008: ETS is to pay back £19.5m and cancel invoices worth £4.6m. The UK government asked Lord Sutherland to conduct an inquiry into the failure of the 2008 tests. The report http://sutherlandinquiry.independent.gov.uk/ included in its main findings
• primary responsibility for this summer’s delivery failure rests with ETS Global BV, which won the public contract to deliver the tests;
• ETS’s capacity to deliver the contract proved to be insufficient. A lack of comprehensive planning and testing by ETS of its systems and processes was a key factor in the delivery failure;
The ETS Europe website http://www.uk.etseurope.org/?yourcountry=UK describes itself as " the world leader in the field of educational and business assessment. At the forefront of educational research, and in the development of performance assessments, ETS ... offers reliable assessments and tests measuring English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
proficiency, as well as customised solutions to European academic institutions, businesses and government agencies."