Thomson Prometic scores IRS exam work

Thomson Prometric Inc. won a 10-year, $12.5 million contract from the Internal Revenue Service to develop and administer its special enrollment exam on a computer-based format.

Under the contract, Thompson Prometric of Baltimore will furnish comprehensive test design and delivery services for the exams delivered yearly throughout North America and other parts of the world. The company will develop multiple test forms to minimize test item exposure, and will provide a secure environment in its testing centers, where the exams will be administered.

During the life of the contract, the test will be available internationally in many of the company's 3,000 locations. The company plans to make the new test format available during fourth quarter of 2006.

The special enrollment exam tests candidates' knowledge of tax laws and regulations so that those who pass it can represent taxpayers before the IRS. The exam consists of four written tests administered over two days. The computer-based format will make the test process more accessible to test-takers and give them more time to complete the exam.

Thomson Prometric is a unit of The Thomson Corp., Toronto. The parent company, which has more than 40,000 employees and had annual sales of $8.5 billion in fiscal 2005, offers software tools and applications in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate e-learning and assessment, scientific research and health care.