The "TOEFL® Essentials"™ test is a new English language proficiency test in the "TOEFL"® family of assessments. It measures foundational language skills and communication abilities in academic and general (daily life) contexts. The test covers the four language skills of reading, listening, writing, and speaking and is intended…

The redesigned "TOEIC Bridge"® tests are designed to measure the reading, listening, speaking, and writing proficiency of beginning to low-intermediate English learners in the context of everyday adult life. This report describes the comprehensive and multifaceted process used to enhance the meaningfulness of TOEIC Bridge test score…

In this paper, we discuss the multi-faced role of English writing in the international workplace. Drawing upon previous research, we point out that English, as the main lingua franca, supports a variety of writing practices in the workplace, and so it presents both significant value and challenges for internationally operating individuals and…

Alternative approaches are discussed for use of e-rater[R] to score the TOEFL iBT[R] Writing test. These approaches involve alternate criteria. In the 1st approach, the predicted variable is the expected rater score of the examinee's 2 essays. In the 2nd approach, the predicted variable is the expected rater score of 2 essay responses by the…

The Test of English as a Foreign Language[TM], better known as TOEFL[R], is designed to measure the English-language proficiency of people whose native language is not English. TOEFL scores are accepted by more than 6,000 colleges, universities, and licensing agencies in 130 countries. The test is also used by governments, and scholarship and…

The eighth "ETS Addressing Achievement Gaps Symposium" provided a public forum for educators, policymakers, and researchers to forge productive relationships that will advance their efforts to enhance the educational achievement of America's five million English-language learners (ELLs). The conference was held at ETS world headquarters in…

This document describes the breadth of the research being conducted in 2008 by the Research and Development Division at Educational Testing Service (ETS). The research described falls into three large categories: (1) Research supported by the ETS research allocation; (2) Research funded by testing programs at ETS; and (3) Research funded by…

What happens behind classroom doors--the content, experiences, and interactions with teachers that students encounter--is the "sine qua non" of student classroom learning. But everyone's inventory of instructional practices across different subjects and grades is limited; and the same can be said about everyone's knowledge of what makes for good…

Innovations, ETS's corporate magazine, provides information on educational assessment for educators, school leaders, researchers and policymakers around the world. This issue on how classroom assessments in five U.S. states and several foreign countries expand educational opportunities for all students. Articles in this issue include: (1) Keeping…

This document describes the breadth of the research that the ETS (Educational Testing Service) Research & Development division is conducting in 2010. This portfolio will be updated in early 2011 to reflect changes to existing projects and new projects that were added after this document was completed. The research described in this portfolio falls…

This monograph provides a comprehensive description and analysis of the literacy proficiencies of the adult immigrant population (16-65 years old) in the U.S. in recent years and assesses their implications for the labor force behavior, employment, earnings, incomes, and civic behavior of the immigrant population. The first section will present…

More than 190 prominent scholars, practitioners, educators, and policymakers gathered at ETS on October 20-21, 2004, to participate in a symposium dedicated to addressing achievement gaps for minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged students and English-language learners. This issue of "ETS Policy Notes" provides an overview of the…

Innovations, ETS's corporate magazine, provides information on educational assessment for educators, school leaders, researchers and policymakers around the world. Each issue of Innovations focuses on a particular theme in assessment. This issue reports on how new technologies in classrooms around the world are enhancing teaching, learning and…