ETS Launches Criterion(SM) Online Writing Evaluation Upgrade.

PRINCETON, N.J. -- ETS announced today the release of a significant upgrade to Criterion(SM) Online Writing Evaluation, a learning tool that uses automated scoring technologies to evaluate student essays online. More than half a million elementary, middle, high school and college students across the United States use Criterion for unlimited opportunities to submit essays for immediate feedback.

Criterion helps instructors more quickly evaluate student writing skills by scoring essays that students submit and providing diagnostic feedback in real time about the use of grammar, mechanics, style, organization and development. Teachers set the parameters for each assignment and can add their own comments to student essays in the form of pop-up notes.

"Writing proficiency is an increasingly important skill, but teachers have less time to help each student develop that skill," says John Oswald, ETS's Senior Vice President and General Manager of Elementary & Secondary Education. "Criterion gives students the opportunity to work independently in a non-threatening environment to improve their writing. At the same time, it allows teachers to take a microscopic look at each student's essay to make informed instructional changes."

Enhancements to Criterion v4.0 include:

--increased accuracy of holistic scoring through ETS's automated essay-scoring engine, e-rater(R)

--new reports for teachers with details about each student's progress and access habits, as well as holistic score summary reports for each class

--easy-to-use charts and graphs displaying scoring and error data

--the ability to aggregate data by class, school or district, for district assignments

--trait-indicator messages that help pinpoint areas that need more attention

--new Spanish/English bilingual Writer's Handbook, with associated bilingual feedback messages

--user conveniences, such as the ability to archive student portfolios and easily import and export data

--on-screen advisories for users whose essays are too long, have too many problems, or are off topic

--technical improvements that help prevent students from deleting unsaved essays

For more information about Criterion, visit www.ets.org/criterion. For an eight-minute online tour, visit www.ets.org/criteriontour.html.

About ETS:

ETS is a nonprofit institution with the mission to advance quality and equity in education by providing fair and valid assessments, research and related services for all people worldwide. In serving individuals, educational institutions and government agencies around the world, ETS customizes solutions to meet the need for teacher professional development products and services, classroom and end-of-course assessments, and research-based teaching and learning tools. Founded in 1947, ETS today develops, administers and scores more than 24 million tests annually, in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide. Additional information is available at www.ets.org.