The deal brings together two of the most influential assessment and measurement organisations in American education at a time when institutions, employers and policymakers are grappling with rapid AI changes and shifting workforce demands.
Educational Testing Service (ETS), best known internationally for administering the TOEFL and GRE tests, said the acquisition will strengthen its ability to support learners from school to college and employment. It has not disclosed the value of the deal.
“Our mission goal is to ready 100 million people for the next generation of jobs… this will help us advance that mission and help progress individuals that are in the educational system as well as the workforce context,” ETS CEO Amit Sevak told The PIE News.
“When we set that goal we said we wanted to achieve it by 2035, but because of [the deal] we believe we can accelerate that and do that even sooner.”
The acquisition unites ETS’s global assessment portfolio with ACT’s extensive footprint across US K-12 and higher education. While ACT is widely known for its college admissions exam – a direct competitor to the SAT – the organisation has increasingly expanded its focus to workforce readiness and career development.
“Every student deserves a strong education, a fair shot at college, and a path to a good job,” said Sevak, announcing the news.
“Together with ACT, we’re determined to serve students and parents along with educators and states by expanding access to education and job opportunities across America.”
Beyond college admissions, ACT operates ACT WorkKeys, a workforce skills assessment system that awards the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC), a credential used by thousands of US employers to evaluate workplace competencies.
The organisation also provides career planning tools designed to help students align their skills with labour market opportunities and find suitable career pathways.
By combining ACT’s established relationships with schools, districts and state education systems with ETS’s global reach and assessment expertise, the organisations say they are positioning themselves to play a larger role in connecting education outcomes with workforce needs in an economy increasingly shaped by AI and technological disruption.
“There’s a real sentiment that college students are feeling anxious… of the two million students that are graduating in 2026 with a university degree, 10% are unemployed and 40% are underemployed,” said Sevak.
Of the two million students that are graduating in 2026 with a university degree, 10% are unemployed and 40% are underemployed
Amit Sevak, ETS
“That means out of the two million students who invested time, money, energy and the emotional effort to get a college degree… only one million are actually getting jobs paid at the appropriate level for a college grad.”
As such, he said the deal was a “huge opportunity” to serve those students.
In the near term, ACT customers will see no disruption of services, with Sevak highlighting the new branch of ETS would be treated as a “standalone operation” while benefitting from the organisation’s expertise in measurement science and technology development
He added that the merger would enable the combined organisation to offer more integrated solutions that support learning, measure progress and connect individuals with education and employment opportunities.
ACT CEO Steve Tapp said the move would allow the company to expand its impact while remaining focused on student success. Before ETS, ACT was owned by Nexus Capital Management.
“Becoming part of ETS will allow us to take what we’ve built and scale it within a broader vision for readiness,” said Tapp.
“Joining ETS gives us the platform to fulfil our mission at a scale we couldn’t reach alone. This is about more students getting the guidance they deserve, and more of them finding their way forward with confidence.”
