ACT buying educational resource provider

Iowa City-based ACT Inc. has purchased OpenEd, a Los Gatos, Calif., educational resource provider that offers assessments, homework assignments, videos, games and lesson plans to teachers, schools and districts across the country.

OpenEd, founded in 2012 by Adam Blum, will join Pacific Metrics, another ACT subsidiary, in the newly formed ACT Assessment Technologies group, which will be based in California. The group will be led by Rich Patz, its newly named chief executive officer and formerly chief measurement officer for ACT.

'We are thrilled to join ACT in the organization's efforts to improve college and career readiness for all students,” said Blum, OpenEd CEO, in a news release. 'Our capabilities for aligning and evaluating educational resources will be greatly enhanced by the deep research and content expertise and the insights into college and career readiness that ACT brings to our relationship.”

In a news release, Patz said the contributions that technology and science can make to advance learning are becoming increasingly clear and compelling.

'ACT is excited to embrace a future in which our work extends beyond the measurement learning outcomes and incorporates scientifically grounded practices that can improve teaching and learning on a daily basis,” he said. 'OpenEd and its technology empower teachers and students to find the best open educational resources to meet individual needs.”

News of OpenEd's acquisition comes after ACT last month announced a gradual phaseout of paper-based testing operations at its McCarrel Center. The move will affect 60 positions, many of which likely will be eliminated.

The decision will mark the second layoff at ACT in the past nine months. The company eliminated 80 positions in August 2015 in what was described as a cost-cutting move.