It was announced in April 2024 that the company, previously a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (NTEE classification B90, Educational Services, per the IRS),[1] had been purchased by the private equity firm Nexus Capital, raising concerns about transparency and accountability.

Previous CEOs include Marten Roorda (2015–2020), Jon Whitmore (2010–2015), Richard L. Ferguson,[5] (1988–2010), and Oluf Davidsen (1974–1988).

In 1958 at a conference sponsored by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), Lindquist presented The Nature of the Problem of Improving Scholarship and College Entrance Examinations.

Lindquist and Ted McCarrel, the University of Iowa registrar, led a team that developed and then delivered the first-ever ACT test to 75,406 students on November 7, 1959.

ACT, the organization which administers its namesake exam, was purchased by the private equity firm Nexus Capital Management April 2024 in a major shake-up for the standardized testing industry.

[11] The ACT test became the leading college readiness assessment in 2012, surpassing the SAT in the number of students taking the exam.

The ACT measures high school students' general educational development and academic readiness to complete first-year college-level work.

Virtually all four-year colleges and universities in the United States accept the ACT, but institutions place different emphases on standardized tests, relative to other factors including class rank, GPA, and extracurricular activities.

[16] The standards are empirically derived descriptions of the essential skills and knowledge students need to become ready for college and career.

[43] In June 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, SAT and ACT tests have been waived and, according to The Washington Post, "States are learning they can live without them, having been given permission by the Department of Education to not give them this past spring.