The Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®) Board of Directors recently undertook a proposal process to identify the best possible assessment development and delivery vendors for the GMAT® after the current assessment contract between GMAC® and Educational Testing Service® (ETS®) expires. A rigorous search has led the board to select two new vendors, who will work in tandem, Pearson VUE and ACT, Inc.

Pearson VUE, a division of the international media company Pearson, is an international testing and accreditation company that offers numerous medical, educational, and professional certifications and assessments for such organizations as the American Board of Family Practice, the American Board of Surgery, the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Cisco, the U.K. Teacher Training Institute, ITT Technical Institute, IBM, Microsoft, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, and Sun Microsystems.

ACT, Inc., is a nonprofit organization that provides assessment, research, information, and program management services to companies in the education and workforce development markets. It has a well-established reputation for excellence and integrity in test development. ACT, Inc., has delivered 4.2 million computer-adaptive tests to 1.2 million students. A total of 4,500 universities currently use the company's services.

Educational Testing Service® (ETS®) is the current assessment development and delivery contractor for the GMAT®, although it subcontracts part of the delivery of the test to Thomson Prometric. The contract between GMAC® and ETS will expire on December 31, 2005.

The Taskforce for the Future of the Council, a subcommittee of the GMAC® Board of Directors, spearheaded the effort to put out a request for proposal (RFP) to a field of test development and test delivery vendors, including ETS®, to expand the options GMAC® has in administering the GMAT® after the current contract with ETS® expires. The RFP was disseminated on July 15, 2003. Proposals and bids were due September 15, 2003. The vendor selection process was completed December 10, 2003.

In establishing a new assessment partnership, the Taskforce for the Future of the Council sought to achieve the following goals—

• creating a world-class platform for the GMAT® and any other assessments GMAC® may license or develop in the future
• taking more control over the relationship between GMAC® and GMAT® test takers as well as GMAT-using institutions
• ensuring better access to the test throughout the world

Since the introduction of the GMAT® in 1954, when ETS® provided the only option for the development and delivery of secure, objective, and valid high-stakes assessments, a number of other competent testing companies have emerged around the world. In selecting Pearson VUE and ACT, Inc., as its new assessment partners, GMAC® chose the vendors whose direction, investments, and capabilities would enhance the Council's ability to continue to—

• deliver a robust GMAT® program
• provide new test security measures
• create access to graduate management education around the world

GMAC® is committed to providing continuous, uninterrupted GMAT® services throughout the transition to new vendors. GMAC® will keep schools and test takers informed of all relevant developments.

Look for future updates on the GMAC® relationship with Pearson VUE and ACT, Inc., here in Deans Digest.

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