E. User Narrative

Hypothetical Story: The journey of Aisha, an English educator in a developing nation

Aisha teaches English at a primary school in a bustling town in Senegal. Like many educators in her region, she's passionate and dedicated but faces several challenges daily.

Limited Resources: While she has a standard curriculum to follow, she lacks robust tools to measure her students' English proficiency accurately. She uses outdated paper-based tests, many of which are not standardized and vary in quality. The feedback she can provide her students is based solely on these results, limiting her ability to pinpoint areas of improvement.

No Global Context: She hears about the CEFR and TOEFL benchmarks, but these seem distant and unattainable. Without the means to compare her students' proficiency to global standards, she's unsure about the real-world preparedness of her students.

Diverse Learning Needs: Aisha has a class with varying English proficiency levels. Some students had exposure to English at home, while others are just starting out. Catering to this wide spectrum using a one-size-fits-all approach is daunting.

Tech-Savvy Kids: A good number of her students have smartphones, thanks to hand-me-downs from elder siblings or parents. They play games, watch videos, but there's no educational content tailored for them. Aisha wishes there were a way to leverage this tech familiarity for learning.

Common Use Cases

Diagnostic Testing: Schools and tutors need to place students in appropriate learning groups based on their English proficiency. A reliable, scalable, and easy-to-administer test would be invaluable.

Progress Monitoring: Over the academic year, educators like Aisha need regular checkpoints to gauge students' growth and modify instruction accordingly.

Preparation for High-Stakes Exams: As students approach critical exams, they, along with their educators, need resources aligned with global standards to simulate the real test environment.

Edgy Use Cases

Gamified Learning Platforms: Edtech startups want to integrate proficiency testing into a gamified English learning app targeting young learners, making learning fun and effective.

Remote Villages: In remote areas where schools operate without consistent electricity or internet, community leaders want to organize monthly proficiency test camps using portable devices.

Cultural Tailoring: An educator in Thailand wishes to have cultural references in English proficiency assessments, making them more relatable to local students.

As ETS looks at designing their solution, they'll need to consider not only the conventional classroom setup like Aisha's but also the broader, diverse applications and challenges in the world of English education.

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