British citizenship tests to be run by US firm embroiled in 'cheating scandal'

The owners of the company hired to administer British citizenship tests were previously at the centre of a cheating scandal, it has emerged. Last month, PSI Services was paid £19.8 million for a three-year contract after being acquired by Educational Testing Service (ETS). The Home Office stripped ETS of its contract for providing English language tests for migrants after it was accused of cheating over 10 years ago, revealed.

After being bought by ETS in January 2024, PSI Services is now responsible for creating and issuing the Life in the UK test for people who want to become British citizens. ETS remains the world's largest provider of tests and assessments and said PSI Services was "operating as a separate entity."

In 2014, the BBC undercover investigation levelled cheating accusations against ETS, claiming "proxies" were taking its English language tests on behalf of real candidates, and invigilators were reading out answers.

Some of the company's staff also allegedly alerted the Home Office to evidence of organised cheating two years prior to the investigation.

They accused managers of trying to prevent "fraudulent" test centres from being shut down over fears they'd lose out on money, as the test costs £50.

ETS allegedly found that 58% of the 58,000 people who took the test between 2011 and 2015 "used deception", while 39% were "deemed questionable", the outlet reported.

A spokesperson told the BBC at the time: "ETS does everything it can to detect and prevent rare instances of dishonest test administrators or test takers."

The Government cancelled 36,000 student visas and deported more than 2,500 people following the scandal, though many objected to ETS' findings.

Now Health Secretary called ETS in 2018 "the grubby contractor at the centre of this scandal", adding that it had "serious questions to answer about their conduct in all this".

In 2019, ETS said it had taken action, conducted by third-party contractors and overseen from the UK, after it was made aware of the cheating allegation.

ETS and PSI Services have been contacted for comment.