William H. Angoff (September 14, 1919 – January 5, 1993) was an American research scientist. He worked for the

Educational Testing Service Educational Testing Service (ETS), founded in 1947, is the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization. It is headquartered in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, but has a Princeton address. ETS develops var ...

(ETS), where he helped improve the

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schola ...

and authored books about testing.

Early life

Angoff was born on September 14, 1919, in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and earned a master's degree followed by a PhD from

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

Career

Angoff first worked as a psychological testing expert for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Angoff worked for the

(ETS) from 1950 to 1993. He became the director of developmental research in 1976. Over the course of his career, he helped improve the

, an exam taken by millions of American high school graduates. He also promoted the use of testing in his speeches and writing.

Personal life and death

With his wife Eleanor, Angoff had a son and a daughter. They resided in Princeton, New Jersey. Angoff died of a heart attack on January 5, 1993, in Princeton.

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Angoff, William H. 1919 births 1993 deaths Scientists from Boston Scientists from Princeton, New Jersey Harvard University alumni Purdue University alumni American scientists