IOWA CITY, Iowa—ACT, Inc. signed a ground-breaking agreement with a leading testing services and technologies provider in China to provide Chinese students with more options to gain acceptance to US colleges and universities. The agreement with ATA Online (Beijing) Education Technology Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of ATA Inc. (“ATA”) will allow Chinese students to better understand how to incrementally prepare for university by following a path guided by ACT resources.

Under this agreement, ATA will offer a host of ACT test preparation measures to students in the Peoples’ Republic of China. With the ACT resources, students will be able to:

1. identify gaps in their ACT-tested knowledge via diagnostic online assessments and complete any remediation study;
2. sit for a mock ACT exam to get a representative score, continue studying and engaging in preparation activities; and
3. take a practice exam that gives a scientifically valid prediction of performance on the ACT test.

Through these offerings, Chinese students will have supportive, personalized guidance for the steps they need to take on their path to attend university in the US. The agreement provides students with equal preparation opportunity for a US college entrance exam, so that they may take the assessment that best showcases their abilities at dates and locations most convenient for them.

“We are breaking down the barrier to provide much broader access to materials specifically designed to help students in China prepare for the ACT,” said ACT Chief Commercial Officer Suzana Delanghe. “This agreement clears the path to provide those students with the resources students in the U.S. and other countries already have—materials to help them do their best on the test and, in many cases, help them to gain access to the best educational system in the world.”

ATA will begin offering the test preparation materials prior to the September 2017 administration of the ACT test.

About ACT

ACT is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people achieve education and workplace success. Headquartered in Iowa City, Iowa, ACT is trusted as a national leader in college and career readiness, providing high-quality assessments grounded in nearly 60 years of research. ACT offers a uniquely integrated set of solutions designed to provide personalized insights that help individuals succeed from elementary school through career.

About ATA, Inc.

ATA is a leading provider of advanced testing technologies in China. It offers comprehensive services for the creation and delivery of assessments based on its proprietary testing technologies and test delivery platform. ATA’s testing technologies are used for professional licensure and certification tests in various industries, including information technology services, banking, teaching, asset management, insurance and accounting. As of December 31, 2016, ATA's test center network comprised 3,105 authorized test centers located throughout China. ATA believes that it has the largest test center network of any commercial testing service provider in China.