Q&A with a Researcher: Spiros Papageorgiou

Senior Editor in Research Ayleen Gontz interviewed Principal Measurement Scientist Spiros Papageorgiou about his life and ETS career.

Spiros Papageorgiou was born in a small town in northwestern Greece, which he left after high school to study at the University of Athens, then at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom. For a short time, he taught English as a foreign language to Greek students of all ages. His experience of “teaching to the test” uncovered a passion for improving the learning experiences and pathways of EFL students.

Papageorgiou has worked at ETS for 12 years and is currently a Principal Measurement Scientist in the Skills and Business Excellence area of Research. Most of his work here is related to how universities use English language test scores to admit international students or place them into language programs.

Papageorgiou lives near the Princeton campus with his wife and 2-year-old son. He is fluent in Greek and English (but with an accent) and will happily discuss all things Greek over a good cup of coffee. When he is not in his office, you can find him in the cafeteria in the late afternoon on anchor days, desperately looking for a caffeine fix.

Millions of international students use the TOEFL iBT® test to prove to universities that they have a strong command of the English language. I understand you’re part of a team from ETS that’s been working closely with one of TOEFL’s main competitors. That’s a unique approach. Why is that relationship important?

The IELTS test and our TOEFL iBT test are designed to support decisions about an international student’s ability to communicate in English. Universities need to be able to compare scores from the two tests and set comparable score requirements. If score requirements are too high on one test, then students who took the other test are treated unfairly, as they need to demonstrate a higher level of language proficiency.

I am very proud that we have managed to collaborate with the three IELTS owners — British Council, Cambridge University Press and Assessment, and the International Development Program (known as IDP) — on a score concordance study that will present a way for institutions to compare the scores from the two tests. This study will be the first of its kind. Not only are competing organizations working together, but the study data consist of score reports that are 100% verified rather than self-reported.

It is not easy to bring together competing organizations to conduct a joint research project, but all sides recognized the importance of getting this study done right, as it will affect thousands of university programs trying to establish comparable score requirements across the two tests.   

You have a little language learner in your house now. I remember being fascinated — and sometimes very frustrated — watching my kids learn to communicate. Does any of your experience in constructing language assessments come into play as you and your wife help your son learn to express himself?

My son is about to turn 2, but I have already found it useful to ask him questions with only two options, as opposed to open-ended questions. Whether it is about playing with his toys or eating his food, having to make a choice between two answers helps him focus.

Not to sound like a scientist here, but research has proven that multiple-choice questions have many advantages when it comes to efficiency, and they definitely have advantages over open-ended questions when dealing with a toddler!

In our case, the advantage for my wife and me is that our kitchen or playroom does not look like a disaster zone.

What’s the next step in language testing?

I would like to see ETS work more on improving the language assessment literacy of all stakeholders: students, teachers, institutions and governments. Mobility for studying and for work will continue to increase, so how we evaluate language proficiency and what information we provide about someone’s ability to communicate in another language can be extremely consequential. Think about preparing to migrate to a new country and the only thing holding you back is your score on a language test because you missed the requirement by one point!