Educational Testing Service (ETS) announced today that it is acquiring ACT, the Iowa City-based nonprofit best known for its namesake college entrance exam, in a deal that combines two of the country’s most established names in educational measurement.
The acquisition brings together ETS and ACT around a shared goal: helping students and workers navigate an economy increasingly reshaped by artificial intelligence. Both organizations frame the deal as an effort to expand access to education and career pathways beyond standardized testing alone.
“Every student deserves a strong education, a fair shot at college, and a path to a good job,” said Amit Sevak, CEO of ETS, in a statement. He said the combined organization intends to work with students, parents, educators and states to widen access to education and job opportunities nationwide.
ETS has said it is committed to preparing more than 100 million people for the next generation of jobs, and company leaders said ACT’s reach will help extend that effort across all 50 states. ACT brings established relationships with K-12 schools, districts and higher education institutions, along with its WorkKeys workforce-readiness assessments, which are used by millions of job seekers and employers.
ACT CEO Steve Tapp said joining ETS gives the organization a larger platform to carry out its mission. “Joining ETS gives us the platform to fulfill our mission at a scale we couldn’t reach alone,” Mr. Tapp said in a statement. “This is about more students getting the guidance they deserve, and more of them finding their way forward with confidence.”
Mr. Tapp has led ACT since October 2025, when he succeeded longtime CEO Janet Godwin. Ms. Godwin spent 35 years at ACT, including five as chief executive, and guided the organization through its 2024 restructuring into an independent public benefit corporation backed by Nexus Capital Management. She now serves as a special advisor to Mr. Tapp and the ACT board. Mr. Tapp joined ACT’s board in June 2024 before moving into the CEO role; he previously spent 15 years as CEO of Lifelong Learner Holdings, the parent company of testing firm PSI Services and talent-management provider Talogy, and earlier held senior roles at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
ETS said ACT customers and partners should expect no immediate changes to the products and services they currently use.
The ETS deal marks the second major ownership change for ACT in roughly two years. In April 2024, the nonprofit announced a partnership with Nexus Capital Management LP, under which ACT and Encoura — an education data and research firm fully owned by ACT — merged into a public benefit corporation operating under the ACT name. That arrangement was structured to direct earnings toward an Iowa City-based nonprofit that would retain a board seat and an ownership stake in the restructured company. It is not yet clear how the ETS acquisition affects that nonprofit’s role or its representation on ACT’s board.
ETS, a nonprofit itself, said it was advised on the transaction by the law firms Vinson & Elkins and Patterson Belknap, both based in New York. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
