In a recent interview, Senior VP Rohit Sharma highlighted the focus on “durable skills” such as teamwork and communication. The revisions also aim to alleviate test-related stress by shortening the test duration. Future plans include utilizing AI for personalized and contextualized feedback.
Educational Testing Service, a global leader in educational assessments, is making significant changes to improve the relevance and practicality of its exams.
In a recent interview, Rohit Sharma, ETS’s Senior Vice President of Global Higher Education and Workskills, highlighted the organization’s commitment to enhancing the testing experience.
Durable skills
One key focus for ETS is the incorporation of “durable skills” into test formats, addressing concerns that traditional testing methods may not produce employable graduates. These skills include teamwork and communication abilities. For instance, the Test of English as a Foreign Language introduced a ‘Writing for Academic Discussion’ section, aligning test content with the skills required in modern learning environments.
ETS’ efforts are driven by feedback from its two primary stakeholders: test takers and academic institutions. Test takers expressed high levels of test-related anxiety, leading to a reduction in the TOEFL’s total duration from three hours to under two hours. Academic institutions stressed the importance of maintaining test rigor, validity and reliability.
Korean market
In the Korean market, one of ETS’s top five markets globally, English certifications like TOEFL and Test of English for International Communication are highly valuable alongside the Test of Proficiency in Korean. Proficiency in multiple languages can significantly benefit candidates in education and employment opportunities in an interconnected world.
Sharma addressed the Korean government’s decision to extend the validity of TOEFL and TOEIC scores from two to five years for government job applications. While recognizing such policies, ETS maintains that its tests are most reliable within a two-year validity period, considering the potential deterioration of language skills over time.
