The iSkills™ Assessment from ETS

How can you demonstrate that students have the skills needed to succeed in the 21st century?

With the iSkills™ assessment from ETS. This outcomes-based assessment measures the ability to think critically in a digital environment through a range of real-world tasks. This one-hour exam:

  • Features real-time, scenario-based tasks that measure an individual's ability to navigate, understand and critically evaluate the variety of information available through digital technology
    • Tasks mirror the way individuals use information in academic, business and personal contexts
    • Test content is balanced among the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, practical affairs and popular culture
  • Delivers individual and group data for multiple uses, including:
    • Student evaluation and placement
    • Curriculum development
    • Accreditation and accountability initiatives
  • Assesses the outcomes for information literacy and digital fluency required by regional accreditors

Developed with the assistance of leaders from both two and four-year colleges, the iSkills assessment requires students to demonstrate their ability to synthesize many different types of data and make sound judgments about what's accurate, relevant and useful. The assessment gauges how well students:

  • Evaluate the usefulness and sufficiency of information for a specific purpose
  • Create, generate or adapt information to express and support a point
  • Communicate information to a particular audience or in a different medium
  • Define an information problem or formulate a research statement
  • Access, summarize and integrate information from a variety of digital sources

Who takes the test and why?

College students take the iSkills assessment so that institutions can evaluate students' level of critical thinking skills in a digital environment. This assessment can be used for placement and opt-out of relevant coursework, accreditation and funding purposes, and to help identify when interventions are needed for students.

When and where do students take the exam?

There are no preset test administration dates. Testing is conducted at your convenience. The test is administered in a proctored environment on a computer employing the iSkills assessment secure browser.

For more information, review the Systems Requirements.

For more information about the iSkills assessment, contact an ETS advisor at 1-800-745-0269 or email highered@ets.org.