News! Arrests in TOEFL Hong Kong Case

Dear Members of the Higher Education Community,

I am writing today to share news of a recent event where ETS's test security measures played a vital role in identifying and stopping individuals who attempted to take the TOEFL® and GRE® tests dishonestly. On February 25, three individuals in Hong Kong who were attempting to take the TOEFL test on behalf of others were arrested. ETS's Office of Testing Integrity identified these individuals and their planned impersonation in advance and alerted test center personnel and local law enforcement.

On the day of the test, the individuals were arrested during a break in testing. They subsequently admitted their scheme to authorities, which involved attempts to test for others on both the TOEFL and GRE tests. These individuals have since been sentenced, and the culmination of this case has led to consequences for both the impersonators and those for whom they were testing. ETS is taking steps to alert institutions of TOEFL and GRE scores canceled in association with this case. Those institutions affected will be receiving notification from ETS this week.

Over our 65-year history as the world's largest educational measurement and research organization, ETS has continued to develop and expand our approach to security to ensure the validity of our test scores. Many of the test security practices pioneered by ETS have become the industry standard and have been adopted by other companies and organizations around the globe.

We continue to explore and incorporate new security methods to identify and combat security threats. We have taken measures in the registration and testing process, at test centers, and even in the way that our test content is delivered worldwide, to name a few. If you have any questions about this case or other test security issues, contact the ETS Office of Testing Integrity at TSReturns@ets.org or call 1-800-750-6991 (United States) or +1-609-406-5430 (all other locations).

We encourage you to share this information with colleagues at your institution. ETS is committed to working with institutions around the world to effectively communicate information and collaborate to ensure fair, valid and reliable assessments.

Sincerely,

Eileen Tyson
Executive Director, Global Client Relations, ETS

For more information about TOEFL and GRE test security practices, visit How ETS Protects the Integrity of the TOEFL® test or How ETS Protects the Integrity of the GRE® revised General Test.