pan Extends Reach with Test Agency Relationship

August 21, 2000. Indianapolis, IN – Today, Performance Assessment Network, Inc. (pan), leaders in internet-based assessment or “e-testing,” announced a formal distribution and marketing relationship with the Test Agency, one of the leading test publishers in the United Kingdom. The co-branding deal gives pan ready access to the professional test administrator community in the U.K., while offering the Test Agency an immediate foray into the new e-testing markets. As part of the relationship, the Test Agency will link all its online customers at www.testagency.com to the pan site at www.pantesting.com, where many of the Test Agency’s leading products are currently available in e-testing format. Customers will have access to these and additionally to a range of other licensed Test Agency products, as well as pan’s many patent-pending functionality features.

The relationship will propel pan into the growing U.K. market for e-testing: “The Test Agency is a well-known British publisher of tests and the announcement today is a first step toward bringing our technology to the U.K. community of test administrators – while acting as a springboard into the larger European Union marketplace,” said pan COO and Vice President of Sales and Marketing Greg Lamb. The U.K. and European markets are estimated to be a $1.2billion opportunity.

pan currently offers six of the Test Agency’s assessment products aimed at business and consulting testing markets – the Management Development Questionnaire, the Work Profile Questionnaire, the Work Profile Questionnaire emotional intelligence version, the PASAT 2000 sales selection test, and two versions of the Manchester Personality Questionnaire. Plans are underway to add several more Test Agency products in the coming months. pan CEO, Dr. David Pfenninger commented, “pan is a member of the Association of Test Publishers and therefore only places tests on its sites that meet stringent guidelines – based on American Psychological Association standards and consistent with the standards of other reputable professional bodies, such as the British Psychological Society. The Test Agency’s tests certainly meet and exceed these guidelines. We are excited to be able to offer these tests to the U.S. market, and now our ability to access the U.K. testing community with a serious partner demonstrates what the Internet is capable of doing – collapsing the constraints of time, space, and geography,” Pfenninger added. 

Graham Morgan, CEO of The Test Agency also welcomed the new partnership. “We have been looking for the right e-testing solution for almost three years and there is no doubt that we have found it with pan. We are confident that by providing our current customer base with access to our tests via the pan engine, we alleviate all the concerns they have expressed in the past about e-testing” he said. “Our clients consider confidentiality and security to be of the utmost importance in all matters affecting test administration in general and e-testing in particular, and pan’s advanced technology ensures this”. “Obviously pan’s ability to increase our distribution to the U.S. is another appealing reason to form this relationship – it’s really a great opportunity for both companies”, continued Morgan. “This partnership will make us the dominant player as the e-testing market-place grows.”

The Test Agency, founded in 1974, is one of the oldest established test publishers in the U.K.. Based in Henley-on-Thames the company remains committed to meeting the needs of clients in both public and private sectors through the development of innovative, top quality assessment products and services. The Test Agency was the first company in the U.K. to use computers commercially for the administration and scoring of personality and aptitude tests, as well as the first company to offer a fully interactive PC-based test administration package. Now, with the pan e-testing partnership in full swing, the Test Agency will continue to earn and enjoy its reputation for innovation and customer service.

pan is a full service e-testing provider of valid assessments for industry, education, and health care. Utilizing Internet technology and a strong understanding of the assessment industry, pan offers the professional test administrator a unique on-line office for their testing needs. pan currently has contracts with over twenty-five of the industries’ top publishers representing over 200 tests in the areas of employee selection, management development, training and development, and clinical assessment.

pan operates as a traditional portal but also licenses its technology under a “private label” Application Service Provider model. By advancing both the pantesting.com commercial website and private label offerings, pan hopes to become the standard operating system for e-testing worldwide. CEO Pfenninger recently presented “e-Testing: A New Methodology for Professional Assessment” at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association in Washington, D.C., and pan hosted a suite at the convention that was well-attended. “The level of interest among international test publishers, consultancies, and practitioners was gratifying,” COO Lamb reports. “It seems clear to us that we have substantial opportunities in European, Asian, and South American markets, as well as the domestic testing market.” Founded in 1997, pan is based in Indianapolis with technology offices in both Indianapolis and Houston.