ACT, the Iowa City, Iowa-based nonprofit best known for its college admissions tests, has acquired ScootPad, a developer of online curricula for K-8 math and English. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 2011, ScootPad touts “adaptive” technology that can detect gaps in students’ knowledge, and provide the appropriate resources to help them master those concepts. The San Jose, Calif.-based company claims to offer more than 1,000 adaptive learning paths, and says the sequence of lessons, exercises and assessments are tailored to the needs of each student.
ScootPad also sells a version of its product for use at home, for grades K to 5. According to a statement Monday, the company is used by “hundreds of thousands of students” in grades K-8 across “thousands of schools around the world.”
Powering the adaptive technology for both the school and home products is edNexusTM, built by ScootPad in 2015 and which ACT is also acquiring.
This deal marks ACT’s first acquisition of the year. In recent years, the nonprofit has attempted to branch out beyond its testing roots through a series of financial investments. In the past couple years, ACT acquired developers of social-emotional curriculum and open-educational resource tools. It has also invested in an education technology venture capital fund, an assessment company, and an adaptive learning tool (that did not really pan out).
