ETS, the nonprofit group that created the SAT and a number of other standardized tests, has worked with educators, information technology experts, and other institutions to develop a new test designed to measure what it means to be literate in the digital age.

Beta testing for the new ETS exam, called the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Literacy Assessment, began on Jan. 31 and ends March 31. Aggregate score reports for colleges and universities participating in this trial will be available to school officials sometime in June. By early 2006, ETS says it will make available a high-stakes version of the exam that can be scored down to the level of individual students. ETS plans to market the test to colleges, secondary schools, and businesses that want to evaluate students' and potential employees' ability to navigate and evaluate internet-age information.

In 2001, seven colleges and university systems in the United States joined with ETS to form the National Higher Education Information and Communication Technology Initiative. The group helped develop what would become the test.

Officials began by establishing a definition of literacy for the 21st century that would become the basis for the examination. Twenty-first century literacy, they concluded, is "the ability to use digital technology, communications tools, and/or networks appropriately to solve information problems in order to function in an information society." According to the definition, this includes "the ability to use technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate, and communicate information." It also requires students to understand the "ethical [and] legal issues surrounding the access and use of information."

According to ETS, the web-based exam is "a testing program that measures postsecondary students' ability to define, access, manage, integrate, evaluate, create, and communicate information in a technological environment." ETS notes that secondary schools have expressed interest in the exam, too.

"The market didn't need one more multiple-choice test, and it didn't need another test that proves you know how to use Microsoft Word, et cetera," said Tom Ewing, director of external communications for ETS. "Educators needed to determine that their students had the ability to manage and process information through technology, interpret, then communicate it in way that is meaningful and accurate."

Until now, a primary focus for educational institutions has been closing the "digital divide," or ensuring that all students have access to computers and other technology tools. But "now we have a proficiency divide between those who can meaningfully use [technology] and those who cannot," Ewing said. "This test is designed to evaluate that divide" and help close it.

The exam presents the test-taker with a challenge and gives him or her the resources to investigate, Ewing said. The exam unfolds over two hours, during which time the test-taker is asked to carry out a series of 16 simulated tasks. For instance, the test-taker might be asked to perform an advanced search based on the need to find certain information. He or she might then be asked to use that information to put together a graph or compose an eMail message that summarizes the results of the research and draws subsequent conclusions from the data.