Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Adopting Voice Biometrics

Press Release: TOEFL® Program Unveils State-of-the-Art Biometric Voice Identification Software to Increase Test Security Globally (News Blaze)

ETS, the creator of the TOEFL® test, announced the introduction of biometric voice identification to maintain fair and reliable TOEFL testing. The newly announced security measure provides an additional proven technique to add to the TOEFL program's comprehensive security system in authenticating TOEFL test takers globally.

Similar to the highly advanced speaker identification platforms used by government and law enforcement agencies, the software uses statistical pattern matching techniques, advanced voice classification methods, and inputs from multiple systems to compare speech samples from TOEFL test takers. Launched earlier this month, the speaker identification system offers the ability to create voice prints for detailed analysis to validate TOEFL test takers. The new technology will be used as part of test security investigations in 2012 and beginning in 2013 will gradually be used on a larger scale.

"The inclusion of biometric voice identification technology is yet another tool in the TOEFL test security portfolio to ensure test integrity worldwide," explains David Hunt, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ETS's Global Division. "Including a state-of-the art speaker identification component to the TOEFL's security system further strengthens our ability to detect attempts to gain an unfair advantage, a common concern in academia today. ETS is committed to identifying and implementing those protocols deemed most effective by leaders in the security industry in safeguarding against fraudulent behavior."

ETS also administers the SAT test.

See also: New York: Seven Arrested For Alleged SAT Cheating Ring UPDATE: SAT, Biometrics & ROI

Any guess why ETS is considering hand-based biometrics for the SAT but voice-based biometrics for the TOEFL?

New York: Seven Arrested For Alleged SAT Cheating Ring UPDATE: SAT, Biometrics & ROI

Educator: Pressure On Kids Massive; Attorney: District, Not Courts, Should Rule  (CBS - New York via Drudge)

Eshaghoff, who graduated from the high school in 2010 and is currently enrolled at Emory University in Atlanta, was paid between $1,500 and $2,500 per student. He has been arrested and charged with scheme to defraud, falsifying business records and criminal impersonation.

There's big money at stake in administering the test and there's big money and status at stake in obtaining a high score on the test. Many standardized tests use biometrics in order to increase the integrity of the test results.

After all, only half of what the College Board does involves making up and scoring tests. The other half is credentialing and ID management. In the second half, confidence is everything.

Biometrics are already very commonly used for graduate level admissions testing.

See also: Biometrics employed to crack down on proxy test takers

UPDATE:
ETS, the nonprofit that administers the SAT under the auspices of the College Board, told Newsday that it had no intentions of tightening security. (International Business Times via @M2SYS)

We talk (Return on Investment) ROI a lot here.

It's likely that biometric identity management for the SAT currently yields a negative ROI.

The GMAT, among other graduate admissions tests uses biometrics, but the graduate tests are a lot more expensive (GMAT $250; SAT $47). The SAT is taken by far more people and in a wider variety of locations (local high schools, etc.) while the graduate level exams are taken at professional testing centers facing different staff training and technology procurement incentives.

If the incidence of SAT cheating is sufficiently rare that the ETS is not losing credibility as a credentialing authority (i.e. colleges still trust them), it's not hard to see why they're planning to keep their current ID management procedures... for now.

UPDATE II (December 16, 2011):
"For now" may have lasted three months.

Is ETS Reconsidering its ID Management Practices? (CNN)

Even before the College Board receives recommendations from Freeh's security firm, it is weighing several new measures to stamp out impersonations.

The nonprofit is considering adjustments to the number and type of IDs it requires from test-takers, as well the use of digital photography in authenticating test-takers' identities, Caperton testified.

Other options it is likely to examine include palm-vein identification technology; fingerprinting, which is used on the LSAT exam; and requiring that students take the test at their own schools.

But in addressing the impersonation issue, the College Board may well create other problems.

If new ID requirements are perceived as a hassle, some students might decide not to take the test at all.