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Educational Testing Service

EIN 21-0634479 · Princeton, NJ

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthStrong96 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

EDUCATIONAL TESTING SERVICE (ETS) WAS INCORPORATED IN 1947 BY THE BOARD OF REGENTS FOR THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK AS AN EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION TO ENGAGE IN RESEARCH, SERVICES AND OTHER ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATIONAL TESTING. MISSION OUR MISSION IS TO HELP ADVANCE QUALITY AND EQUITY IN EDUCATION BY PROVIDING FAIR AND VALID ASSESSMENTS, RESEARCH AND RELATED SERVICES. OUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES MEASURE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS, PROMOTE LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE, AND SUPPORT EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR ALL PEOPLE WORLDWIDE. VISION TO BE THE LEADING ORGANIZATION IN THE WORLD AT PROVIDING THE BEST POSSIBLE ASSESSMENT AND LEARNING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES THAT HELP IMPROVE LIVES AT EVERY STAGE OF THE JOURNEY TO WHAT IS POSSIBLE.

Income
$1.1 billion
Spending
$1.1 billion
Spent on programs
82%
Reserves
15.1 months of spending
Largest source of income
fees for its services, 83%
Employees
33,057
Volunteers
0
Highest pay
$1.7 million, president & ceo

Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Strong: 96 out of 100. Higher than 90% of charities in its peer group (education, over $100m).

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 15.1 months of spending.

  • Debt

    16 of 20

    It owes 17% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 2% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 3% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    82% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 41% of charities in its peer group (education, over $100m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    17 of 18 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (2)
  1. $755.3 million spent. ASSESSMENT RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND SCORING EDUCATIONAL TESTING SERVICE ("ETS") CONDUCTS RESEARCH ON STATISTICAL AND PSYCHOMETRIC METHODOLOGY TO ADVANCE THE SCIENCE OF EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT AND ENSURE THE TECHNICAL QUALITY AND FAIRNESS OF ETS'S ASSESSMENTS AND ASSESSMENT RELATED SERVICES. THROUGH ITS POLICY EVALUATION AND RESEARCH CENTER, ETS ALSO CONDUCTS RESEARCH AND ANALYSES THAT ADDRESS CHALLENGING EDUCATIONAL POLICY ISSUES. IN CONJUNCTION WITH ITS RESEARCH, ETS DEVELOPS EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENTS FOR USE BY STATES IN K-12 ASSESSMENT, FOR COLLEGE ADMISSIONS AND THE TRANSITION FROM HIGH SCHOOL TO COLLEGE, FOR GRADUATE AND BUSINESS SCHOOL ADMISSIONS, AND FOR USE IN MEASURING KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS, PROMOTING LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE, AND SUPPORTING EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. ETS HAS DEVELOPED MORE THAN 200 ASSESSMENT PROGRAMS INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE PRAXIS SERIES, TEST OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (TOEFL), GRADUATE RECORD EXAMINATION (GRE), TEST OF ENGLISH FOR INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION (TOEIC), AND STATE SPECIFIC AND PRE-COLLEGE ASSESSMENTS.IN CONJUNCTION WITH ITS RESEARCH, ETS CONTINUES WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS (NCES) ON THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS (NAEP). ADDITIONALLY, ETS'S INSTITUTE FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT (ISA) CONTINUES WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DISTRICTS AND SCHOOLS TO TRANSFORM UNDERPERFORMING HIGH SCHOOLS INTO RIGOROUS AND SUPPORTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS THAT PREPARE STUDENTS TO BE COLLEGE READY.EACH YEAR, ETS SCORES AND DELIVERS MILLIONS OF ASSESSMENTS AND SCORE REPORTS TO EXAMINEES AND INSTITUTIONS, IN NUMEROUS FORMATS AND USING A VARIETY OF MEANS.
  2. $121.0 million spent. ASSESSMENT ADMINISTRATION & DELIVERY THE GROUP ADMINISTERS TENS OF MILLIONS OF ASSESSMENTS ANNUALLY IN THOUSANDS OF LOCATIONS WORLDWIDE. ETS DOES NOT OWN OR OPERATE ANY TEST CENTERS; INSTEAD ETS ENGAGES INDEPENDENT 3RD PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS TO ADMINISTER AND DELIVER ASSESSMENTS AROUND THE WORLD.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending September 30, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending September 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since July 1949.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.

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