ETS Introduces the TOEFL® Primary™ Tests to Support Young Students of English

PRINCETON, New Jersey, Jan. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Educational Testing Service (ETS), creator of the TOEFL® test, announces the launch of the TOEFL® Primary™ tests. Designed specifically for students ages 8 and up, the tests measure the English communication skills and progress of students in English classes. The TOEFL Primary tests, the newest addition to the growing TOEFL Family of Assessments, launched its first two successful administrations in Brazil and Korea in 2013.

The TOEFL Primary tests are designed to:

• Assess the general English-language proficiency of young students ages 8 and up
• Provide a snapshot of each student's ability in listening, reading and speaking
• Support teaching and learning by giving information about students' abilities in relation to a widely accepted international standard

The assessments provide meaningful and timely feedback to teachers and schools on each student's individual development. The Reading and Listening tests are paper-delivered and scored locally. The Speaking tests are computer-delivered and are scored by ETS.

Currently, the TOEFL Primary tests are being introduced in Vietnam and in various locations around the world.

"The TOEFL Primary tests offer age appropriate content for young students to be administered under standardized testing conditions, such as a classroom setting," says Jennifer Brown, Executive Director of the TOEFL Program. "The assessments are tailored to the cognitive, physical and emotional development of young students and results are mapped to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), which helps build a strong foundation for their future success."

To help students develop a relationship with reading English early on, the TOEFL Primary Reading scores are also linked to MetaMetrics® Lexile® (http://www.metametricsinc.com/) reading measures — making it easier to find the books and articles that best match students' English-reading abilities.

For more information on the TOEFL Primary Program, visit www.ets.org/toeflprimary or email toeflprimary@ets.org.

About the TOEFL Family of Assessments
The TOEFL Family of Assessments offers a full range of assessments to measure the English skills of learners of all ages. The TOEFL Family of Assessments includes the TOEFL Primary tests for young learners ages 8 and up; the TOEFL Junior® tests for middle school level English language learning programs; the TOEFL® ITP  tests for university-level English language learning programs; and the TOEFL iBT® test used for university admissions. For more information on the TOEFL Family of Assessments, please visit http://www.ets.org/toefl_family.

About ETS
At ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and post-secondary education, as well as conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded as a nonprofit in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually — including the TOEFL® and TOEIC® tests, the GRE® tests and The Praxis Series™ assessments — in more than 180 countries in more than 9,000 locations. www.ets.org