ACT AT IT AGAIN: ACT, the nonprofit education organization best known for its college-readiness assessment, is acquiring the “automated item generation” (AIG) technology from Canada-based MGHL Consulting. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
The purchase comes exactly one year and one day after the ACT announced it would begin working with MGHL and using the company’s AIG technology to enhance its test development process. AIG technology produces test questions with the help of advanced computer programs. The technique has been “thoroughly assessed and verified through rigorous research,” including research conducted by the ACT, the nonprofit said in a press release.
ACT, which has been on an acquiring spree since it came under new leadership in 2015, will continue using AIG to improve its own tests. It will also share the technique with other testing groups in an effort to help them improve their own assessment development processes, the nonprofit said.
ACT’s other recent acquisitions include the National Research Center for College and University Admissions (NRCCUA), a college recruiting service, as well as OpenEd and ProExam. Over the last few years, the company has also invested in Open Assessment Technologies, Smart Sparrow and New Markets Venture Partners.
