The Role of Educational Testing Service in the German Advanced Placement Program

Abstract

tional Testing Service in the German Advanced Placement Program and to describe in particular my own responsibility in this complex activity, in all modesty I said: No, it can't be done, especially not in the short time left till D-Day! But, because these are matters of more than personal concern, the following parapraphs do attempt the impossible, a typical situation in the history of Advanced Placement German. What most encouraged me to make the attempt was the arrival of Professor Hanson's article in which he practically did my work for me. Moreover, he found the exact word for this role of the ETS consultant: Factotum or, in good German Midchen fiir alles. Factotum does not mean, of course, that I do everything. As the terms suggest, it means simply that I am here to serve, to keep the house in order, to see that the trains of communication run smoothly and on time, that the various objectives of the College Board, the Educational Testing Service, and the German Committee of Examiners are met, coordinated, and if necessary reconciled. It means taking part in the committee's deliberations, preparing for their meeting, writing the minutes, preparing copy for Test Production, preparing for and taking part in the reading session, attending the annual School-College Conference in Foreign Languages as a kind of resource-person, interpreting statistical results, making recommendations, and occasionally addressing a group of interested educators. Thus, the writing of this paper falls broadly within the realm of my responsibilities. And I wish to discharge them by offering answers to some of the questions that frequently arise in the minds of persons who come in contact with one of the College Board programs. (1) What does Educational Testing Service have to do with the activities of the Board? Fortunately, the answer has been formulated officially on the hack cover of the College Board Review (Winter 1963. No. 49) in response to an inquiry. It reads as follows: