Educational Testing Service

The Educational Testing Service (or ETS) is the world's largest private educational testing and measurement organization, operating on an annual budget of approximately $900 million. ETS develops various standardized examinations primarily in the United States, but they also administer tests such as TOEFL in most nations. Many of the assessments they develop are associated with entry to US tertiary (undergraduate) and quaternary education (graduate) institutions. As well as test development, they also carry out internationally recognized educational research.

Their international campus-like headquarters (shown here) is in Princeton Township, New Jersey; processing, shipping, customer service and test security is in nearby Ewing; and European headquarters is in Utrecht in the Netherlands. ETS employs about 2,700 individuals, including 240 with doctorates and an additional 350 others with "higher degrees."

ETS is a non-profit organization. The organization is also self-supporting, which it maintains primarily by charging for assessment. Some test-takers find these prohibitively high, although test fee waivers or reductions are available for individuals who can prove financial hardship (See Criticisms of the SAT). The company's overwhelming market share creates a monopoly faced by applicants to US universities and those needing to measure their English language ability.

Much of the work carried out by ETS is contracted by the private, non-profit firm, the College Board. The most popular of the College Board's tests is the SAT, taken by more than 3 million students annually.