American College Testing

What American College Testing does

American College Testing (legal name: ACT Education Corp) is a US-based nonprofit educational organization founded in 1959 and headquartered in Iowa City, IA. It operates as one of two dominant standardized college admission testing programs in the United States alongside the SAT, administering the ACT Test to high school students nationally and in Puerto Rico/U.S. territories, with a parallel international program served via global.act.org. The core ACT Test assesses English, mathematics, reading, and science, with an optional writing section, and is delivered through authorized test centers and a newer Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) online testing capability.

The product surface extends well beyond the exam itself. The MyACT portal serves as the self-serve registration, score access, and test day management platform. ACT offers a content library of free practice tests via the QuizMe platform, official published study guides, a paid ACT Kaplan Test Prep Suite delivered through a partnership with Kaplan, and a tutor finder service. Support products include a Fee Waiver Program (eligibility based on household income and location), Accommodations and English Learner supports, and ACT My Answer Key for score verification. Beyond consumer test takers, ACT serves K-12 districts with assessment solutions, higher education institutions with admissions/placement data, and workforce organizations with career readiness assessments.

ACT generates revenue through per-test registration fees, late registration fees, paid test preparation products (notably the Kaplan partnership), ancillary score and verification services, and likely institutional contracts for district and workforce solutions. Pricing details and revenue figures are not publicly disclosed, consistent with its nonprofit status. The organization has no parent company, no disclosed external equity backing, and no reported M&A activity in the source material.

Name

American College Testing

Legal name

ACT Education Corp

Website

https://actstudent.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ACT Education Corp is a US nonprofit founded in 1959 that administers the ACT standardized college admission test and related prep, accommodations, and assessment services to high school students, K-12 districts, higher education institutions, and workforce organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Assessment & Standardized Testing

NAICS

Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

University/College Entrance & Admissions Testing Authorities (EDADAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

National/State Examination Boards & Testing Agencies (EDADAFAA), Digital Assessment Platforms & Computer-Based Testing Authorities (EDADAFAK), Assessment & Item Writing / Test Content Development (EDAGAKAE)

Keywords

• Standardized testing services
• College admissions testing
• Educational assessment
• Test preparation
• Workforce credentialing

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ACT is a nonprofit that develops and administers the ACT Test, the most widely accepted college admissions assessment in the U.S., delivered in both paper and online (BYOD) formats. Around that core assessment, ACT sells paid preparation products (official prep and subject guides and the ACT Kaplan Test Prep Suite), a score-verification add-on (My Answer Key), and contract-based assessment and credentialing solutions for K-12 districts, higher-education institutions, and employers.

Product overview

American College Testing operates a single unified product—the ACT standardized college admission test—supplemented by an ecosystem of test preparation and support services. The core ACT Test measures academic readiness across English, math, reading, science, and optional writing. This core product is supported by: the MyACT student registration portal; free practice tests via QuizMe and official prep guides; paid prep options including Kaplan Test Prep Suite and tutor matching; fee waiver and accommodation support programs; online/BYOD testing capability; and My Answer Key score verification. The company also serves K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and workforce clients through separate assessment solutions not detailed on this page.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MyACT: Online student portal for ACT registration, score access, and test day management
• ACT Kaplan

Products and services

• The ACT Test
• ACT My Answer Key
• Official ACT Prep and Subject Guides
• ACT Kaplan Test Prep Suite
• ACT Online Testing (BYOD)

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Pearson: Pearson is a global education company that owns assessment products including the GED and operates Pearson VUE test centers worldwide. It is comparable as a broad incumbent spanning K-12, higher ed, and professional testing, with overlapping capabilities in test administration and prep.

Direct peers

• Educational Testing Service (ETS): ETS is a nonprofit assessment organization that develops and administers major standardized tests including the GRE, TOEFL, and Praxis. It is directly comparable to ACT in mission, structure (nonprofit), and business model of monetizing proprietary standardized assessments for students and institutions.
• College Board: College Board administers the SAT, the closest direct substitute to the ACT in US college admissions. Both organizations operate nonprofit assessment models targeting high school students, universities, and K-12 districts, with parallel fee waiver, accommodations, and prep programs.
• Curriculum Associates: Curriculum Associates' iReady is a widely adopted K-12 diagnostic assessment and instruction platform. It competes with ACT Aspire for district assessment budgets and shares the same institutional buyer profile of K-12 administrators and educators.
• Renaissance Learning: Renaissance Learning offers K-12 assessment and learning analytics products (Star Assessments, Accelerated Reader). It overlaps with ACT's district-level assessment business in serving schools seeking formative and interim student performance measurement.
• GED Testing Service: GED Testing Service (a Pearson-owned venture) administers the GED high school equivalency exam and workforce credentialing assessments. It is comparable to ACT in monetizing proprietary standardized assessments for high-school-age and adult learners, including workforce pathways.
• NWEA: NWEA provides adaptive K-12 assessment solutions (MAP Growth) used by school districts for measuring student progress. It is directly comparable to ACT's K-12 assessment segment (ACT Aspire) in target customer, business model, and product category.

Emerging players

• The Princeton Review: The Princeton Review is a test preparation and tutoring provider with deep overlap on ACT and SAT prep courses. It is an emerging/comparable player competing with ACT's own prep offerings and Kaplan partnership for share of student prep spend.

Others

• Kaplan: Kaplan is ACT's official test prep partner (ACT Kaplan Test Prep Suite) but also offers competing test prep for the SAT, GRE, and other exams. It is comparable as a strategic partner and adjacent commercial player in the same student test-preparation ecosystem.
• Khan Academy: Khan Academy provides free SAT prep in partnership with College Board and offers general academic content used by ACT test-takers. It is a thematically adjacent ecosystem player whose free SAT prep has intensified competitive pressure on ACT's paid prep products.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ACTStudent
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TheACTTest
• Facebookfacebook.com/theacttest
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-college-testing
• Instagraminstagram.com/actstudent
• TikToktiktok.com/@actstudent

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about American College Testing