Pearson Launches Second Phase Pilot Program for New Pearson Test of English (PTE) for College and University Students

NEW YORK, March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pearson NYSE: PSO, the international education and information company, will launch the second phase of its pilot program for a new computer-based English language test, the Pearson Test of English (PTE).

Following the successful delivery of the first pilot test in 2007, the second pilot program will be administered to over 5,000 non-English speaking candidates in selected Pearson VUE test delivery centers in the United States as well as the UK, Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

The new test, using a variety of test delivery channels and piloting new technologies to enhance the testing experience, will deliver more accurate measures of prospective candidates' language ability to universities and colleges than what is currently available.

Mark Anderson, president of Pearson Language Tests, comments, "I am delighted with the success of our first pilot program. The participant feedback we received was extremely positive. Over 6000 candidates from over 20 countries took part in the first pilot test conducted in August, September, October 2007."

"The test has also given us comprehensive information and feedback about our item types and their ability to more accurately measure the listening, speaking, reading and writing ability of candidates in an academic environment," he adds.

The Pearson Test of English, offered in collaboration with the Graduate Management Admission Council(R) (GMAC(R)), will be launched globally in early 2009. GMAC owns the Graduate Management Admission Test (R) (GMAT(R)), which is the world's leading predictor of success in graduate management education and is taken by more than 200,000 students annually in almost 100 countries.

John Elliott, dean, The Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, City University of New York and chair, GMAC Board of Directors, comments, "This new test fills a critical gap in meeting the needs of colleges and universities for an instrument that accurately measures four important skills to us -- speaking, listening, reading and writing." Another mark of distinction, he notes, is the test's focus on the needs of test-takers as well as schools. The test will be widely available worldwide via Pearson VUE testing centers, and schools will have more comprehensive and robust information about the language skills of applicants when they make admissions decisions.