What Does It Mean to Be a Nonprofit Educational Measurement Organization in the Twenty-First Century?

Abstract

This chapter reviews the historical roots of ETS from two perspectives. First, the requirements and history of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) governing the establishment and operation of 501(c)3 organizations are described. Next, the people and events leading to the establishment of ETS as a nonprofit educational measurement organization are explored, with particular attention to the role of research. Finally, the principles underlying Section 501(c)3 and those of ETS’s progenitors are brought together to suggest what it means to be a nonprofit educational measurement organization in the twenty-first century.