Investment Rating - The report does not explicitly provide an investment rating for the industry Core Insights - The ACT enhancements aim to improve college and career readiness by modernizing the test structure and content while maintaining the validity and predictive value of the ACT [12][17] - The enhanced ACT will feature a shorter format, with a total testing time of 125 minutes compared to the legacy ACT's 175 minutes, allowing for more time per question [34][36] - The science section will become optional, and the Composite score will reflect only English, mathematics, and reading, providing greater flexibility for students [13][56] Summary by Relevant Sections Introduction - The report outlines enhancements to the ACT test, emphasizing the need for periodic review and revision to meet evolving educational standards and stakeholder needs [17][19] Chapter 1: Identifying Potential Areas for Revision - The chapter discusses the rationale for enhancements, focusing on testing time, student choice, modernization, and accessibility while ensuring continuity in score interpretation and validity [61][62] Chapter 2: Panels, Initial Studies, and Revisions - Expert panels evaluated proposed changes, providing feedback that led to minor revisions in the blueprints for the ACT enhancements [63] Chapter 3: Validity Evidence Based on Test Content - This chapter presents evidence supporting the validity of the test content and response processes, ensuring alignment with college readiness standards [3][4] Chapter 4: Additional Psychometric and Validity Evidence - The chapter includes findings from linking studies and mode comparability studies, demonstrating the reliability and validity of the enhanced ACT [4][5] Chapter 5: Plans for Additional Research - Future research plans are outlined, including a National Curriculum Survey and cognitive process research to further validate the enhancements [5][6] Chapter 6: Revision of the PreACT Suite of Assessments - Enhancements to the PreACT assessments are discussed, focusing on goals and rationales for updates to better align with the ACT enhancements [6][7]

Investment Rating - The report does not explicitly provide an investment rating for the industry or company Core Insights - The CRASE5 scoring engine was developed to enhance automated scoring capabilities for ACT writing essays, incorporating new functionalities such as detecting off-topic essays and providing confidence levels in scoring [3][4] - The report aims to validate the performance of the CRASE5 models against the previous CRASE+ models, ensuring that the new models maintain similar scoring accuracy and reliability [4][30] - The CRASE5 engine was trained using a dataset of approximately 14,000 hand-scored essays, ensuring a representative sample for effective model training and validation [12][18] Summary by Sections Introduction - The CRASE scoring engine has been operational since October 2022 for various ACT programs, with CRASE5 set to be used starting September 2025 [1][3] Background: Automated Scoring and CRASE5 - Automated scoring utilizes algorithms to replicate human scoring behavior, with CRASE being a long-standing system since 2007, now enhanced for broader applications [6][7] Methods for Engine Training and Validation - The training sample consisted of essays from multiple ACT administrations, ensuring diversity and representativeness in the data used for model training [12][14] - The validation process involved comparing the new CRASE5 scores with those from human raters to assess accuracy and reliability [30][32] Results for Engine Training and Validation - The CRASE5 models demonstrated comparable performance to the original CRASE+ models, with agreement rates exceeding ACT's operational thresholds [32][41] - Distributional metrics for the first writing domain showed that the mean scores and standard deviations were consistent across raters and the CRASE5 engine [31][33] - The report includes detailed metrics for various writing domains, confirming that CRASE5 meets or exceeds the required standards for operational use [42][68] Baseline Results on the 1–6 Scale - The CRASE5 models achieved high exact agreement rates (over 71%) with human raters, indicating strong reliability [32][41] - The quadratic weighted kappa (QWK) values for CRASE5 were above the industry standard of 0.70, supporting its operational viability [27][32] Baseline Results on the 2–12 Scale - The CRASE5 models on the 2–12 scale showed promising distributional metrics, with a QWK of 0.91, suggesting suitability for operational use [55][59] - Exact agreement rates for the 2–12 scale were lower than for the 1–6 scale, but still within acceptable ranges for stakeholders to consider [53][55]

Core Insights - Pearson announces updates to its English language testing portfolio, including enhancements to the Pearson Test of English (PTE) and the launch of the Pearson English Express Test, aimed at improving the testing experience for governments, universities, and test takers globally [1][10] Enhancements to PTE - Starting August 2025, PTE Academic will introduce two new speaking tasks: "Respond to a Situation" and "Summarize a Group Discussion," designed to assess real-world communication skills [2] - The scoring model will be enhanced with advanced AI and human expert collaboration to better detect unoriginal responses [3] - New preparation resources for the enhanced PTE Academic include scored practice tests, expert courseware, webinars, and video content [3] Trusted Fundamentals - PTE remains fully computer-based, primarily AI scored, and delivers results typically within two days, trusted by over 3,500 institutions and millions of learners worldwide [4] Growth in Test Center Network - PTE's secure test center network expanded with 30 new centers in 2025, totaling 517 locations across various countries, supporting growth in migration and study abroad markets [5] Introduction of Pearson English Express Test - The Pearson English Express Test is a new online assessment designed for US-bound learners, offering a one-hour test that can be taken anytime, anywhere, with results available within minutes [6] - This test addresses the demand from universities for secure and accurate English proficiency assessments, allowing institutions to set scores using Pearson's Global Scale of English (GSE) [7] Security Features - Universities will receive samples of written and spoken responses, with security features including identity checks, human oversight, and dual-camera monitoring [8] Company Commitment - Pearson emphasizes its investment in assessment innovation to meet the needs of governments, institutions, and learners, with enhancements to PTE Academic effective from August 7, 2025 [10]