Educational Testing Service Reviews 302

I tried taking a PRAXIS test through ETS at home for the first time. Even though my tech check came back clean, when I opened the test I was told I had a background app running and needed to get another computer. I grabbed another computer but there was no longer a link. I never started the actual test. I called customer support and they kept giving me the run-around. I have contacted them 13 times over the last 25 days.

At the end of the day, I paid for a service. They did not provide that service. I want my money back or the service provided.

I have done my absolute best to comply with every request they have made. They have made no effort to resolve the actual issue. If some people are able to continue the test and some people are not, that is not equal or just. There is no other company to go to and many states require a PRAXIS exam to become a licensed teacher or administrator. They have a monopoly and can do whatever they want. This is unethical business practices. Just give me my money back or let me take the test.

I was supposed to take the test at home. However, the proctor who did not speak good English asked me to delete a random app on the computer. (Prior to this the system check before the test was fine) Unfortunately my computer would not let me delete it. Then she said I can try on a different computer and she logged off. When I tried to log on the test again I could not. When I asked to be reimbursed and re-scheduled they said I need to wait 24 hours. Also, the calls go to India. They do not speak good English and you constantly need to repeat your self. Do not take the test at home!

They flat out stole my money, I spent 45 mins waiting for a proctor to connect on my test day it was all problems. When I tried to request another test date or a refund CS said that my system wasn't compatible and that I was made aware before the test and my refund request just got ignored. $200 down the drain. Look elsewhere.

Where to start with this company… I hope no one ever has to take the ETS Spanish Praxis…
For starters the test is 3.5 hours, which is actually more like 4 when you factor in your incompetent proctor. This test is taken completely online which has made it CANCEROUS. I had a lengthy conversation with an ETS exec and basically what it amounted to is that this company is somehow UNABLE to schedule more than 3 months in advance! Making matters worse every 3rd month they don’t even offer the damn test! On top of that all it takes about a month to get scores back and you cannot schedule another test within a month of your last test.
After reading all of these other comments of people with similar experiences I seriously do not understand how this company is still running… the service is non-existent, the tests are purposely un passable and I honestly bet people with PHDs couldn’t pass them, and for many they are literally the only barrier to being a teacher….
Companies like this are purely predatory and are preying on a vulnerable group of people that usually cannot afford to take a $165 test 5 times…
Somebody with influence please shut this piece of crap company down!

The wouldn’t allow me to take the test after paying the $130 and following all the instructions to a T. nor would they allow me to reschedule. They stole my money.

Terrible experience,
They accused me of cheating even though I didn't cheat at all. In addition to the fact that they checked everything before starting the exam. It's ridiculous to make assumptions based on just ( May received assistance) which never happened. And receiving 6 mouth ban. That's unfair to destroy people's dreams based on a poor performance from proctor. Horrible experience and service.

ETS robbed me. After preparing for my Praxis exam and doing the home security check to begin my test. I never received a proctor and after being told to restart my computer my test was gone. I guess it was outside of their 15-minute rule. HOWEVER ONE OF THEIR WORKERS TOLD ME TO RESTART. They got me bad. I have spent every day for the past 2 weeks, calling and emailing and there is NO ONE there that can help me. Can someone please tell me and help me where else I can get certified? I refuse to go through ETS. They are the worst and they don't care about their users at all.

I was mistakenly told I had to take a TOEFL exam by my school and registered for a test. After registering and paying A LOT of money, my school told me that I did not need to complete the test. I tried to cancel my registration less that 5 hours AFTER registering and was told that I “ missed” the deadline to cancel my exam and would NOT be refunded my money. While I understand their deadlines, this is completely UNFAIR to student who cannot afford these testing fees. I spoke to a representative on the phone, a supervisor, and put in two helpdesk tickets, all on the same day. Customer service was TERRIBLE and all told me the same exact sentence they got off of their policies.

Again I registered and tried to cancel my test on the same day. Less than 5 hours apart.

I am obviously not the first person to have an issue with this company. I DO NOT recommend.

My son was going to take TOEFL test at home. He had prepaired very well and had tested all the equipment multiple times, both on the ProctorU server and also on other servers.
He had a state of the art gaming microphone that cost over 215$ and was just over one month old. The microphone worked very well at all the testing before the test time started. When he connected to the ProctorU everything worked for a short time but then the proctor told him that he was having a microphone problem and the proctor started to try some technical solutions for a minute or two but the she cut him off and cancelled the test.
When he contacted customer service they tried to tell him that the microphone was broken but that is not the case, it works just fine. Also after few e-mails they also added that the camera was broken which was never an issue, not during the testing on the server nor during the test time.
ETS and their personnel at customer service and technical issues do not hesitate to lie and fabricate the truth. It is our belief that ETS only gain in this all is to make students retake the test many times and constantly pay the test fee again and again. Well we say no to that and our son will not be taking test with ETS again. We urge students to check other resources before you take test with them and if you have any other choice take it, we certainly will do that now.

Regards,
Valdís
Iceland

There's an incredible the amount of negative comments here but I'm not surprised my scores are not available yet and when I contact customer service they are useless. Next time I need to take an english exam it won't be the TOEFL, they need to improve their service considering there are many other tests accepted by universities.

ETS is simply a criminal organization designed to abuse and rob test takers. they intentionally create zillions of problems to make tests fail and if you pass all these steps then they simply cancel your scores without any explanation. I wonder how FBI have not investigated them. All of the managers and employees should be in jail. the number of victims is more than millions.

My son needed this TOEFL test in order to apply for a USA University, we have paied not only the test but also a trial test, all was done using the same computer but at the date of the test they denied our computer based on non-technical reasons (computer was an iMac with Bootcamp to have Windows which is promoted officialy by Apple) so they found this as a possible violation, after that they don´t give you any chance to reschedule, when you call them noone is having an official answer other than it is under review and there is no official email with the desition, we lose the money in a very unfair situation, we went to another company who do this same thing and everything was smooth, cheaper and more fair.

ETS SUCKS!!!

I needed a TOEFL exam in order to pass through to study, it was the last piece to my application, and mind you I booked my exam a month before the deadline.

I received a message THE DAY BEFORE my exam that my exam was RESCHEDLED till AFTER the admissions deadline for my university.

Thank you for wasting my time and STILL charging me for the practice exams which are completely useless to me.

Seriously, you guys have NO consideration for peoples time, money or plans for the future and I will say rather go to IELTS to support you in your examination because honestly this was a waste of my time and money.

I spent 3 months on my applications and your lack of consideration now has had to make me wait till 2025 to apply again.

OH and ETS asks you to rate them, everytime I do, ironically their form has an error and cannot be processed to be reviewed.

Their portal is outdated and rescheduling is made impossible. Lead to a cancellation in my case. I instantly contacted their customer service to solve the issue, but they put it all on me, no rescheduling was possible and no money was returned. It was like talking with a chatbot that did not follow my case. New person answering to my conversation each time with copy paste lines. I will not associate with this company again and will not recommend it to anybody else. Check the other options for your testing, there are those.

Very bad website organisation, no possible possibility of discussion, 0 customers service and also a big waste of your money (issue with scheduling the interview but no possibility of rescheduling or reimbursement, they keep your money without delivering the service).
Avoid at all cost for at home testing.

I registered for at home Toefl test. I had to work that day, I tried to call and reschedule and was on hold up to the point where I had to hang up and go back to work. I was listed as a no show. I called today and there was ZERO assistance. I am told I have to pay again if I want to take it. I call that really low class and having no connection to education in general. No refund available, no rescheduling available, a phone line which is “busy” and a person whose very strong Indian accent does not recommend her for customer service. I guess that’s how they pay them, with money from people whose schedule changes last moment. Thank you for nothing. Now I have to spend time describing my experience on various social media website, because if they took my money, I might as well “promote them”.

I took the test at home on 07 Nov 2023. This morning 09 Nov I received an email from OTI processing (which based on my research is a fraud detecting department that has been bumped billions of dollars, yet not doing a good job) saying that my test scores MIGHT not be reported because they THINK that I had unauthorised applications running while taking the test. Ridiculous! The proctor did check my computer before the test. The ONLY applications I used were ETS Browser and a Proctor program which they required. Such a waste of time and money.

They need to upgrade their system, hire tech professionals, not a whole bunch of useless people that get paid for running an old system, or don't know how to operate the system.

It is a scam! They cancelled my exam without reason!

I took a TOEFL test at home. After waiting for 8 days for my results, I got the message that my scores were cancelled because I "may have received assistance", which I did not! Obviously, this is impossible for me to prove since I took the test alone, without witnesses and ETS is not willing to prove their statement (which they couldn't do anyway since I didn't cheat). No transparency, no customer support! They only want the money but do not provide the contractual service. ETS is not a respectable company and anybody with a similar experience should report their case to the FTC and FBI, because this is fraud!

Unfairly accuses test takers of cheating without any explanation, providing any evidence (even upon request), will not answer emails (since they document how they scam people into having to repurchase an exam administration), nor do they offer an appeal process. If you are too persistent on the phone, the employees become belligerent and threaten to ban you for a specific amount of time. My advice: Don’t waste your time and lawyer up! They run their organization like a dictatorship. You can do everything right; however, if they say you’re wrong… that’s it!