ETS (Educational Testing Service) used to be almost a monopoly. They created a test like the SAT or the TOEFL, and test takers signed up; they didn't really have a choice. Those days are over. The SAT, as mentioned in a previous column, is under siege from the ACT and the growing number of colleges (Fairtest.org) who are no longer requiring standardized tests. Now the TOEFL, with over a 1,000,000 test takers, each, on average, paying $140, a $140,000,000 concession, is also feeling the heat of competition. The first threat to TOEFL began to seriously rear its head in 2003: the International English Language Testing System, the IELTS (www.ielts.org). This test, an entity of Cambridge University and a consortium of British and Australian organizations, is the test of choice for EFL students seeking to enroll in universities across the British Commonwealth.