February 1, 2012

SLATE Popularity Continues to Grow

Middle schools, high schools and boarding schools everywhere are embracing the SLATE exams. SLATE, or Secondary Level Assessment Test of English, helps schools measure the English proficiency of young learners whose first language is not English. The cost-effective test, which offers flexible scheduling and quick results, was launched in 2010. Throughout 2011, SLATE experienced a surge in popularity both in the US and abroad, in emerging markets like China and Vietnam. In the last few months, new institutions from South Carolina to California, and Texas to British Columbia have signed on. Schools use SLATE for student admissions, placement, assessment, advancement, and exit testing. With age-appropriate content, SLATE is the English proficiency assessment tool of the future for institutions that serve young learners.

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November 1, 2011

iTEP AND SLATE NOW IN INDIA AND INDONESIA

Students throughout India and Indonesia now have greater access to iTEP and SLATE exams. Boston Educational Services is pleased to announce our new partnerships with the Marconis Institute Pvt. Ltd. in India and Edupac in Indonesia. Both Marconis Institute Pvt. Ltd. and Edupac are highly respected organizations offering quality counseling services for students interested in pursuing education abroad. We are excited by these new partnerships and look forward to providing iTEP and SLATE testing opportunities in India and Indonesia.

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September 28, 2011

Boston Educational Services is proud to unveil the new look and feel of the online iTEP and SLATE exams! Launched this week, examinees will now experience the visually enhanced exam with its sleek design, modern graphics, and aesthetically pleasing presentation. This innovative design reflects iTEPs position as a technological leader in the testing industry, both functionally and visually. Thank you for your continued support of iTEP and SLATE!

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September 7, 2011

Boston Educational Services (BES) is eager to announce its partnership with the Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences, a member of the exclusive Claremont Colleges. After making a thorough review of iTEP, Keck has decided iTEP meets their high standards for an English assessment exam. The Keck Graduate Institute Admissions Department is committed to greater diversity among its student population, and iTEP will be of great value as Keck increases its international student recruitment efforts. We are honored to have iTEP featured in Keck’s recent press release. The article can be found at http://www.kgi.edu/news-and-events/news-stories/2011/kgi-now-accepting-itep-exam-for-new-students.html. Thank you for your support of iTEP and SLATE!

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August 17, 2011

Many of you have been inquiring about preparation materials for the iTEP exams. Following our Press Release from last month, we are happy to announce the official launch of our iTEP Preparation Guide! Through the use of screenshots, examples, and exercises, “the Guide” provides examinees with the opportunity to become familiar with the format of iTEP exams, and helps increase overall English language proficiency.

The iTEP Prep Guide is available as a free digital download from the “Downloads” section on our website: www.iTEPexam.com. A limited number of hard copies are also available for purchase from BES and iTEP Representatives. While the digital download of the Guide is free, BES recommends examinees purchase the two iTEP Prep-Plus exams mentioned in the Guide to increase the learning experience. These two iTEP Prep-Plus exams serve as Diagnostic and Comparison tools respectively, and are available for purchase as a bundle for $40 total. Please contact BES or your local iTEP Representative to inquire about purchasing and taking the two iTEP Prep-Plus exams.

Please see our website now and download the Guide and accompanying audio files. We look forward to your feedback. Thank you for your support of iTEP!

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July 28, 2011

It is our pleasure to announce the imminent launch of the iTEP Prep Course Guide! “The Guide” helps familiarize examinees with the format, content, and question structure of the iTEP exams through the use of examples, exercises, and screen shots, with the overall goal of improving English language proficiency.

In addition to the 100 pages of written instruction, The Guide also includes an audio file with Listening section exercises, as well as the administration of 2 iTEP Prep Plus exams to optimize English learning and improvement.

We are excited to launch the iTEP Prep Course Guide on August 15, and we hope it assists test-takers in reaching a higher level of English language fluency and iTEP scores. As always, thank you for your support of iTEP and BES. iTEP… Ready When You Are!

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June 29, 2011

Boston Educational Services is proud to announce its partnership with Troy University (Troy, Alabama) and the innovative use of iTEP in the Interpreter Training Program (ITP). As a pioneer program in American Sign Language utilizing distance technologies, the ITP will be using iTEP to assess the English language proficiency of students wishing to major in Interpreter Training, as well as those exiting an Internship. The Interpreter Training Program is a leader in the well-known Second Language Acquisition concept of ensuring high first language proficiency as a measure to facilitate second language acquisition, in this case American Sign Language.

We are truly honored to be part of this innovative program and look forward to working with Troy University and the Interpreter Training Program!

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May 27, 2011

Boston Educational Services (BES) is excited to announce the launch of our “Modularization” option for the iTEP exams! As of June 1, iTEP clients will be able to order customized exams containing only those specific language skill sections, or “modules,” that they wish to test. This means if an organization wishes to assess only the Listening skills of an applicant, for example, iTEP can be tailor-made to contain only that section (or combination of sections). This is a service not currently offered by any of iTEP’s main competitors. In pursuit of offering the highest level of service and staying ahead of the pack, BES launches this unique iTEP enhancement next week.

As always, we thank you for your support of iTEP! Thanks to you, iTEP has become the fastest growing internationally-recognized English proficiency exam on the market.

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April 28, 2011

Boston Educational Services is excited to announce that the SLATE exam is making noise in China!  As a reminder, SLATE (Secondary Level Assessment Test of English) is our online English proficiency exam for high school students and young learners.  Over the next 6 weeks, Aston Educational Group, our SLATE distributor in China, will administer 1,800 SLATE exams to Chinese students from 3 Shanghai high schools.  Some will be taking SLATE for placement purposes, while the remainder will be taking SLATE as a course exit exam.  We are pleased to share this update with you, and we thank you for your continued support of iTEP and SLATE.

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March 28, 2011

Education Management Corporation (EDMC) will now accept iTEP as proof
of English proficiency for admission into its Art Institutes and
Argosy Universities across the country.  EDMC has been providing
high-quality, career-focused education at the undergraduate,
graduate, and post-graduate levels for more than 40 years.

BES is very pleased to have EDMC and its affiliate schools as
partners, and we proudly welcome them to the iTEP family.  More than
140 colleges and universities now accept iTEP for admissions.

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March 1, 2011

Students and companies in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile now have access to the most affordable and convenient English proficiency test in the world, thanks to a new partnership between Boston Educational Services and Bridge-Linguatec.  As a world leader in language education, testing, and travel, Bridge brings nearly 2 decades of expertise to iTEP.  The Denver-based company, with affiliate centers throughout the world, joins the iTEP team to help distribute the test throughout South America’s “southern cone”.  We are very happy to be working with Bridge, and we look forward to a long and successful partnership.  

Please join us in welcoming Bridge to the iTEP team!

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January 31, 2011

University of California, Berkeley has chosen to use iTEP for assessing the English language proficiency of its international postdoctoral scholars, visiting scholars, and visiting student researchers.

This six-week English Language Program, called English Works for You, will help the visiting scholar community improve their English language skills and streamline communication. In this joint venture between UC Berkeley, The Language Company (TLC), and Boston Educational Services (BES), participants are placed into the appropriate English language proficiency level, based on their score on the iTEP Academic Exam. The participants then receive English language instruction provided by TLC. The iTEP Academic-Plus Exam will then be available to further certify participants’ English levels at the close of the course.

BES is very pleased to be working with UC Berkeley and TLC, and we are proud that iTEP has been selected to be the English language proficiency exam for this program.

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December 6th, 2010

Boston Educational Services is excited to share the latest news with all of you! Due to iTEP’s high demand and fast growth, we have made some interesting enhancements that we think will interest you.  We have enriched our exam roster with the addition of SLATE, our new high school exam, and we have given our existing iTEP exams a facelift and renamed them.  

Our exams have been rebranded as follows:

1-      (a) iTEP Academic      (b) iTEP Academic-Plus

2-      (a) iTEP Business        (b) iTEP Business-Plus

3-      (a) SLATE                    (b) SLATE-Plus

All our exams are based on the same rigorous standards of validity and reliability, have the same basic test structure, and are used for various purposes.

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December 1st, 2010

BES hereby commemorates our first annual Distributor of the Year.  Congratulations to Andrew Diaz and First Class English / iTEP Colombia for a very successful year in 2010.

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November 1st, 2010

Today is the official launching of the new Secondary Level Assessment Test of English, SLATE, developed by Boston Educational Services, as one of very the few tests recognized worldwide that specifically assesses high school level English language proficiency.

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August 16, 2010

Annually, the Chancellor’s Office of the California State University System issues admissions guidelines for its 23 campuses throughout the state. We have just learned that the new guidelines to be issued this fall will include the acceptance of iTEP as one of the few nationally recognized English proficiency exams for assessing the English proficiency of international undergraduate student applicants. This is very good news for Boston Educational services and iTEP, and over the next months, we will be presenting iTEP and its advantages to all the 23 CSU campuses. We are pleased and proud to have this opportunity to share this news with our friends and colleagues.

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June 23, 2010

ACCET, the U.S.-based Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training, recently reviewed the iTEP exam and has “determined that it would satisfy ACCET’s requirement that Intensive English Programs (IEPs) use a nationally recognized English language assessment exam to validate their curriculum.”

ACCET accredits many of the IEPs in the United States, and has been officially recognized by the U.S. Department of Education since 1978.

We are very pleased that iTEP has met with ACCET’s satisfaction.  iTEP’s recognition by 40 colleges and universities, its increasing use by the corporate sector, and its recognition by ACCET, all combine to validate iTEP’s reliability as an instrument for assessing English language proficiency.

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April 1, 2010

As the iTEP exam continues to gain more users in the U.S. and overseas, it is important that BES keeps pace with that growth.

We are pleased to inform you that, as of April 1, Michael Salenko joined our Executive Team to devote his full time and energy to iTEP sales as Director of Business Development. 
 
Having recently worked a year directly for Perry Akins on a complex educational/entrepreneurial project, Michael also brings with him over 10 years of international business experience in Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia.

In this position, Michael will be providing guidance and support to the iTEP international representatives and users. 

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December 3, 2009

Now that iTEP, the International Test of English Proficiency, has established a significant number of Certified Test Centers throughout the world, we are moving actively into our next strategic phase:  Increasing the number of colleges and universities that recognize iTEP for admissions purposes.

We have been fortunate to welcome aboard Dr. Parandeh Kia as Director of Institutional Relations to spearhead this drive.  Dr. Kia brings to the iTEP team a wealth of experience in international education, including 12 years as Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Director of International Student Programs at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Dr. Kia directs a number of regional coordinators across the country who, along with her, are making in-person visits to introduce iTEP’s advantages to international admissions officials. 

“Our goal,” says Chairman Perry Akins, “is for 100 institutions to recognize iTEP by early 2010.  Once we reach that level, the next 100 will be that much easier to enlist, and so on.  With each new recognition, iTEP strengthens it position as an innovative, effective, and attractive alternative to the existing English language testing establishment.”

We invite you to contact Dr. Parandeh Kia at:  pkia@bostoneducational.com.

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September 8, 2009

The International Test of English Proficiency (iTEP) has gained a solid foothold in the world’s largest market – China – thanks to the appointment of the Aston Educational Group (AEG) as iTEP’s exclusive PRC distributor.  The partnership becomes effective September 15, 2009.

AEG was founded by Chairman and CEO David Wisner in 1996, and has experienced remarkable growth since then.  Today, there are more than 60 Aston English schools located throughout China providing instruction to individual learners.  AEG’s Oxford Associates division serves the corporate market with professional training programs and business English courses.

Plans are for the 60+ Aston English schools to become Certified iTEP Test Centers, and to promote iTEP to individuals.  Oxford Associates will introduce iTEP’s business version to its impressive list of corporate clients.

Boston Educational Services’ Chairman Perry Akins welcomed AEG to the worldwide family of iTEP distributors saying, “We could not have wished for a stronger, more knowledgeable partner to help us navigate the tremendous opportunities represented by the China market.  I have every confidence that David Wisner and his management team will make iTEP a huge success in the PRC.”

For an introduction to AEG, please visit:  www.astoneducation.com.  Learn more about iTEP at:  www.bostoneducational.com.     

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August 28, 2009

We are pleased to report that during a very busy summer, five new organizations have joined the Boston Educational Services family as iTEP Distributors.

In South America, we are very proud to announce two new Distributors: Andrew Diaz of First Class English (Bogota) now represents iTEP in Colombia; and David Silver of Comunicorp (Santiago) is iTEP’s Distributor for Chile.

We feel fortunate to have a strong presence in Turkey thanks to two outstanding individuals and their organizations: Salih Baycan of Eti Egitim Yonetim Danismanlik Hizmetleri in Istanbul, and Dilek Dengizek Ersanal, Executive Director of the Turkish American Association in Ankara (officially beginning as of October 1, 2009).

Rounding out the newest group of iTEP Distributors is Selex On Line in Mexico City, Mexico, an innovative company led by David Armando Ponce M. and Michael S. White.

BES is extremely pleased with each of these new relationships, and we are confident that, through the talent and efforts of these partners, iTEP will soon become a familiar name in every one of these new markets.