Jan 9, 2025   SOURCE: PR NewsWire

ETS Wins New Contracts to Deliver The Nation's Report Card

PRINCETON, N.J., Jan. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ETS, a global education and talent solutions organization, has been selected by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to implement the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) during the 2025-2029 cycle. Known as The Nation's Report Card, NAEP is the only nationwide assessment that provides a clear and comprehensive measure of student performance in grades 4, 8 and 12 across critical subjects such as math and reading. Over the next five years, ETS will support NCES in introducing groundbreaking innovations to NAEP, enabling teachers, policymakers and parents to better support every learner in reaching their full potential.

Under the new contract, ETS will provide the following services:

    --  Program and operations coordination: Overseeing strategic planning,
        managing coalition contractors, coordinating research and development
        and aligning operations across multiple partners.
    --  Design, analysis, and reporting: Developing NAEP assessments and special
        studies, performing psychometric and statistical analysis and producing
        reporting tools such as The Nation's Report Card.
    --  Assessment content development: Creating test questions, digital
        assessment tasks, scoring rubrics and survey items; conducting cognitive
        interviews and pilots; handling item translations and reviews.
    --  NAEP platform development: Building an innovative, user-friendly digital
        assessment platform and supporting systems, including the Assessment
        Management System and the Online Teacher and School Administrator
        Questionnaire.

"Our long-standing partnership with NCES reflects our continued commitment to measuring what matters--providing reliable insights to help shape the future of learning for all," Amit Sevak, CEO of ETS, said.

"It is our priority to ensure that NAEP remains the most accurate and trusted measure of student achievement in the U.S.," Kadriye Ercikan, Senior Vice President of Global Research at ETS, said. "Every NAEP cycle allows us to incorporate the latest advances in cognitive science and measurement. The upcoming 2024 results will include many new features that the ETS team created with NCES, such as descriptions of student skills demonstrated on the assessment and a new socio-economic status (SES) index. This improved level of analysis will equip stakeholders with new critical insights to help every student succeed."

ETS deeply values its role supporting NCES to establish NAEP as the benchmark for educational evaluation in the U.S. and globally, driving its continuous innovation and modernization since 1983. Key milestones include:

    --  In 2017, transitioning assessments from paper-based to fully digital
        formats, creating modern, flexible testing environments.
    --  In 2024, expanding device compatibility to include Microsoft Surface Pro
        tablets and Chromebooks, allowing students to take assessments on more
        familiar devices.
    --  By 2026, ETS aims to support NCES in transitioning NAEP to
        school-provided devices such as desktops, laptops, or tablets to
        leverage school-managed internet connections, maximize efficiency and
        align with students' other testing experiences.

Looking ahead, ETS remains committed to ensuring that NAEP continues to provide valuable insights that power human progress.

About ETS
ETS is a global education and talent solutions organization enabling lifelong learners to be future-ready. We advance the science of measurement to build the benchmarks for fair and valid skill assessment. We are committed to powering human progress by promoting skill proficiency, empowering upward mobility and unlocking more opportunities for everyone, everywhere. Our assessment products--including the TOEFL®, TOEIC®, GRE®, and Praxis® assessments--as well as our innovative solutions and subsidiaries, help 50 million people each year clarify their strengths and find opportunities for growth in education, work and beyond. For more information, visit www.ets.org.

About NAEP
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as The Nation's Report Card, is the largest ongoing assessment measuring U.S. students' knowledge and abilities. Administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the U.S. Department of Education, NAEP assesses mathematics, reading, science and writing learning outcomes. It is administered periodically to a representative sample of students in grades 4, 8 and 12 nationwide. For more information, visit https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/.

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SOURCE ETS