Item Development

The foundation for fair, valid and reliable assessments is high-quality test items. We create high-quality test items relying on the following:

Writing guidelines

ETS staff follow a rigorous set of guidelines (PDF) to ensure creation of high-quality assessment items that meet industry standards for the highest technical quality.

Experienced item writers

Our assessment specialists work with a pool of experienced item writers (most are current or former teachers), and all receive extensive training on the principles of good item writing.

Internal review

Every item must pass internal reviews that meet our criteria for matching the objective or standard being measured, have excellent technical qualities and have appropriate difficulty and cognitive levels and are accessible to the broadest range of students.

Fairness guidelines

Every item must go through a fairness review, during which we verify that the item meets the fairness guidelines — ensuring there is no use of discriminatory language or content and bias in assessment items.

Style consistency, grammar and accuracy

ETS maintains an expert editorial and proofreading team with significant test item review experience to ensure accuracy.