New General Education Test Succeeds the Academic Profile

In January 2006, ETS will introduce the Measure of Academic Proficiency and Progress (MAPP^™) test, a new general academic knowledge and skills assessment to succeed the Academic Profile.

Academic Profile has long been recognized as the best measure of college-level reading, mathematics, writing and critical thinking in the context of the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. However, the College Board^® and ETS, shared owners of Academic Profile since 1987, have agreed to discontinue the test.

The MAPP test is designed to assess general education outcomes to improve the quality of instruction and learning. As the only integrated test to assess student learning in general education programs, it focuses on academic skills rather than knowledge developed through general education courses.

"Colleges and universities have used the Academic Profile for nearly two decades to measure student achievement, evaluate program effectiveness and benchmark performance," says Mari Pearlman, Senior Vice President of ETS's Higher Education Division. "The MAPP test will have enhancements that will allow for more flexibility and more informative results, while ensuring that institutions can equate data collected from the new test with that of the old."

The same ... only better

The MAPP test will include all the current test features, plus many new enhancements that make it even more flexible, cost effective, and easy to administer. These include either Web or paper-and-pencil delivery, an optional essay module using the e-rater^® tool, ETS's automated essay scoring engine, and timely delivery of all scores and reports via the Web.

Structured so that additional modules may be added in the future, the MAPP test will be offered in two standard forms (two-hour test) and six abbreviated forms (40-minute test), making it ideal for pre- and post-testing. And the abbreviated forms will yield additional data for research and analysis, such as individual subscores and assessment indicators.

A seamless transition for test users

Scores on the new test will be fully comparable to those on the existing Academic Profile — so institutions can continue collecting data for longitudinal and cross-sectional studies without disruption.

Although Academic Profile exams can no longer be ordered, answer sheets can be scored through mid-June, 2006, and access to scoring information and comparative data will continue to be available throughout this period.

Like the Academic Profile before it, the MAPP test will support accreditation and the annual strategic planning process, student counseling and performance-based funding.

For more information, college and testing administrators can visit www.ets.org/mapp, or contact ETS at 1-800-745-0269 (press 2) or highered@ets.org.

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