15 years of OeAD International Testing Services
Testing, testing, testing! – at the OeAD not just since Corona
Higher education institutions around the world assure themselves of the quality of their international students by means of binding results of various entrance tests. Good test results therefore almost always play a decisive role when applying for a study period abroad. The OeAD, Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation, with its test centre – the “OeAD International Testing Services” – conducts international, highly standardised individual and group tests and offers various advisory services for learners, higher education institutions and authorities. The certified test centre is committed to international security standards and has state-of-the-art biometric procedures to ensure the reliability of the test results. One of the best-known higher education-related admission tests is TOEFL iBT. The OeAD, however, also offers occupation-related exams. On 28 April 2006 the first digital TOEFL test was taken at the OeAD. Approximately 1,800 exams are now carried out every year.
“The trend towards using standardised admission exams has been observed in many EU countries and in Austria in the last few years. The measurability of the quality level in education is one of the cornerstones of a well-developed education area. This is due on one hand to the Bologna Process and on the other hand to increased internationalisation strategies in the tertiary education sector," emphasises the Minister for Education and Science, Heinz Faßmann.
The OeAD’s Managing Director Jakob Calice emphasises: “By establishing higher education and occupation-related achievements and standards at the OeAD Test Centre we support students and people in the labour market, with whom these services are in strong demand. In this way the OeAD promotes mobility and internationalisation and at the same time helps to implement comparability and transparency in the Austrian and international education landscape.”
State-of-the-art biometric procedures
The OeAD Test Centre offers internationally recognised higher education and occupation-related examinations, most of which are high-stakes tests (TOEFL iBT, GMAT, PTE Academic, GED, LSAT, LNAT, UCAT, EBU, CIA, CISSP, PRM, PMP, Kaplan QLTS MCT Exam and many more). These are high-stakes and high-risk exams for the participants as (pre-)selection decisions are often made by certain higher education institutions solely on the basis of the test results achieved. All details of the examination procedures are precisely defined and all test centres around the world must uniformly adhere to them. These measures are intended on one hand to prevent the risk of test tourism and on the other hand to ensure the reliability of the test results. This contributes significantly to their worldwide recognition.
A special service are the test simulations that take place on a regular basis to familiarise the test candidates with the test situation in an ideal way and to give them an objective idea of their current level of performance in the various tests.
In unannounced audits conducted in 2018 and 2020 by the market leaders in the administration of worldwide computer-based examinations – ETS (Educational Testing Service) and Pearson VUE, both USA – the Test Centre received top marks.
About the OeAD
The OeAD is Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation.
For 60 years the OeAD has been advising, supporting and connecting people and institutions in education, science, research and culture with its future-oriented programmes. As an agency of the Republic of Austria the OeAD thus contributes to inclusive, equal and high-quality education. The OeAD’s activities are in Austria, Europe and internationally in priority countries.
The OeAD is an interface to educational offers for all phases of life – from kindergartens and schools to higher education and science, vocational education and training and adult education. The agency's main instruments are European and international exchange and transnational mobility. Thus, the OeAD as a national agency is responsible, among other things, for the implementation of Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps in Austria.