New ETS Report Illustrates a Vision for the Future of Assessments

PRINCETON, NJ (April 10, 2024) Today, the ETS Research Institute published a report, “Charting the Future of Assessment,” in which the authors explore how tomorrow's assessments will measure in-demand transferable skills by leveraging new technologies and the power of feedback to drive humanity forward.

Evidence shows that assessment has long had great value to individuals and societies; however, current educational testing falls short of what assessment can truly deliver. Globally, people need a clearer understanding of their current skill levels, as well as reliable feedback on how to enhance those skills, to thrive in today’s economy. With only a numeric score, test takers are left to make critical decisions about education and career without informative feedback and insights.

“Gen Z and Millennials globally are debating the value of formal education and seeking alternative pathways to success, and we need to respond to this need,” says Amit Sevak, CEO of ETS and co-author of the report. “This paper is a call to action; to utilize the full potential of assessment to enhance individual wellbeing and empower collective human progress.”

The report lays out how assessment can help maximize access to opportunities and future-proof societies, boosting innovation and success. Assessments should identify hard-to-measure skills to signal individual strengths and areas of improvement. And importantly, through dynamic personalized AI-powered feedback, assessments should generate critical insights to inform recruiting, professional development, enhance workforce productivity and satisfaction.

“Actionable, personalized AI-powered feedback is an understudied and underinvested element in assessment, but we hope this paper can change that,” said Patrick Kyllonen, Distinguished Presidential Appointee at ETS and lead author of the report. “Developments in technology and AI make it possible for assessments to unleash human potential in ways not possible until now.” 

To achieve this vision, public perception must shift from seeing assessment as a formality to viewing it as a crucial facilitator of success. The assessments created across the field of educational measurement must be fair, equitable, and capable of providing the insights and feedback necessary for real-world success and progress. And the skills and knowledge we measure - and how we measure them – must meet the needs of today's diverse, rapidly evolving, technology-driven society.

To read the report and learn more, please visit: https://bit.ly/4cMpD0N

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 to clarify their strengths and find opportunities for growth in education, work and beyond. We continue to operate around the world, with offices in 25 locations and operations in 200 countries and territories.www.ets.org