In April 2006, the Educational Testing Service (ETS), publisher of standardized entrance exams such as the Graduate Record Examination, Graduate Management Aptitude Test, introduced the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy Assessment. This test is now known as iskills assessement.

The fact that ETS has developed an examination for information literacy indicates the company's belief that information literacy skills are important enough to assess and to collect revenue as it does with other ETS tests.

An article about the need for the ICT test and test results from 6,300 students was published in College and Research Library News, January 2007. [PDF]

[Note: Descriptions of proficiences below were taken from the ETS site and an ETS document explaining the seven ICT proficiencies (PDF).

Students are tested at the following two levels (proficiencies are italicized):

Core Level

• Manage — Organize information according to a classification scheme.
• Access — Develop a search strategy to locate information in a database.
• Communicate — Create a single persuasive slide to support a position.

• Integrate — Summarize information from a variety of source, and and then draw conclusions from that summary.
• Create — Create a visual representation of data to answer a research question.
• Access — Construct an advanced search based on a complex information need.

ETS is developing and testing additional levels as well, such as the "Long Task," which combines Access and Evaluate proficiencies.

Using a simulated Web search generated by the ICT exam, a test taker searches for a site that illustrates an information need, and searches an online database to find more authoritative sources.

The ICT tests for the following 7 proficiencies:

1. Define — The ability to use ICT tools to identify and appropriately represent an information need. Student activities include:
   • creating an academic research topic to fit a particular information need,
   • asking questions to clarify a customer's information need,
   • filling in a concept map.
2. Access — The ability to collect and/or retrieve information in digital environments. This includes the ability to identify likely digital information sources and to get the information from those sources. Student activities include:
   • searching through databases for information,
   • browsing through linked Web sites for information,
   • locating information through online HELP,
   • downloading and installing a (simulated) video player.
3. Manage — The ability to apply an existing organizational or classification scheme for digital information. This ability focuses on re-organizing existing digital information from a single source using preexisting organizational formats. It includes the ability to identify preexisting organizational schemes, select appropriate schemes for the current usage and aply the schemes. Student activities include:
   • sorting emails into appropriate folders,
   • reordering a table to maximize efficiency in two tasks with incompatible requirements,
   • documenting relationships using an organization chart.
4. Integrate — The ability to interpret and represent digital information. This includes the ability to use ICT tools to synthesize, summarize, compare and contrast information from multiple digital sources. Student activities include:
   • comparing and contrasting information from Web pages in a spreadsheet,
   • synthesizing information from IMs into a word processing document.
5. Evaluate — The ability to determine the degree to which digital information satisfies the needs of the task in ICT environments. This includes the ability to judge the quality, relevance, authority, point of view/bias, currency, coverage and accuracy of digital information. Student activities include:
   • selecting the best database for an information need,
   • determining the sufficiency (or lack) of information in a Web site given the information need,
   • ranking Web pages in terms of their meeting particular criteria,
   • determining the relevance of postings on a Web discussion board.
6. Create — The ability to generate information by adapting, applying, designing or inventing information in ICT environments. Student activities include:
   • creating a graph that supports a point of view,
   • selecting text and graphics that support a point of view.
7. Communicate — The ability to communicate information properly in its context of use for ICT environments. This includes the ability to gear electronic information for a particular audience and communicate knowledge in the appropriate venue. Student activities include:
   • formatting a word processing document,
   • recasting an email,
   • adapting presentation slides.