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News  ETS Technologies and Question Mark to Provide Online Writing Feedback
For Immediate Release
ETS Technologies and Question Mark to Provide Online Writing Feedback Stamford, Conn. (Sept. 11, 2000) ETS Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Educational Testing Service, and Question Mark Corporation announced today they have entered into a strategic partnership to provide a new service Criterion Online Writing Evaluation. Criterion is a web-based service that allows students to get instant feedback on writing samples they submit. The Criterion service is designed to supplement writing instruction by giving learners the opportunity to practice writing and receive reliable feedback based on widely accepted standards. Visitors to the ETS web site at http://www.ets.org/criterion can write essays on topics that are linked to established standards and receive a score with descriptive information within about 30 seconds. Each essay is ranked on a numeric scale, with explanatory remarks about the possible strengths and weaknesses of the work. Question Mark Perception online testing and assessment software provides the user interface for Criterion, which uses e-rater, ETS's proprietary automated essay scoring system. Question Mark customers and resellers can now configure Perception with an e-rater connection, thus adding the scoring of essay questions to Perception's array of question formats. These include matching, multiple choice, multiple selection, numeric, fill-in-the-blank, and hot spot questions. "We are thrilled that we can now offer ETS's expertise in writing assessment as part of the Perception quizzes and tests," said Eric Shepherd, president of Question Mark Corporation. "Now teachers can provide their students with an opportunity to see how well their writing measures up to a clearly defined standard." ETS Technologies, a new for-profit subsidiary, was recently established to capitalize on ETS's innovations in assessment technology. "Partnering with Question Mark is an important strategic step for our new business," said ETS Technologies Vice President Richard Swartz. He added that pilot testing of the Criterion service will begin this fall, with educational institutions using the service to meet a variety of needs ranging from instruction to placement. Educational Testing Service is the world's largest private educational testing and measurement organization and a leader in educational research. A nonprofit company dedicated to serving the needs of individuals, educational institutions and agencies, and governmental bodies in 181 countries, ETS develops and annually administers more than 11 million tests worldwide on behalf of clients in education, government and business. For more information, access the ETS Web site at www.ets.org. Question Mark is a world leader in computer-based testing and assessment software. Businesses, governments and universities in more than 50 countries use Question Mark software, which originated in 1988. Question Mark Corporation offers numerous online learning tools on the subject of computer and web-based testing at its web site, www.questionmark.com. The company has played a leading role in the development of the IMS Question and Test Interoperability Specification. Visit Question Mark on the
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