Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


ACT Acquires Social-Emotional Learning Company

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 07/16/19

Education assessment nonprofit ACT has acquired a company that specializes in the field of social and emotional learning (SEL). ACT purchased Mawi Learning, which produces SEL-focused educator professional development and student curriculum. Terms of the deal were not released.

Mawi was founded in 2003 and has claimed that its products and services have been used by a million students around the world. Those include online and blended SEL courses.

Those subjects are a "key element," according to ACT, of its own Holistic Framework, which covers four domains for helping students prepare for college and career success: core academic skills, "cross-cutting capabilities," behavioral skills and education and career navigation skills.

"Coupled with ACT Tessera, our state-of-the-art SEL assessment program, Mawi Learning's professional development and student curriculum will allow ACT to provide a comprehensive solution for schools and districts," said Suzana Delanghe, ACT chief commercial officer, in a statement.

The acquisition of Mawi Learning is the latest step being undertaken by the organization to evolve into what a "learning, measurement and navigation company." Other moves in this direction have included an affiliation with ProExam, enabling ACT to introduce SEL products; purchase of Knovation and OpenEd for online OER content for personalized learning; investment in Smart Sparrow and its digital course creation platform; collaboration with the NROC Project to create ACT CollegeReady; and acquisition of the National Research Center for College and University Admissions (now known as Encoura) and the American College Application Campaign for their student navigation tools and resources.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • digital graph

    Building Genuinely Data-Informed School Districts

    Schools today generate enormous amounts of data. The difference between collecting it and using it effectively often comes down to quality, access, and context.

  • Neon blue security locks with a single red highlight

    With AI, Cybersecurity Focus Shifts from Finding Flaws to Fixing Them

    For decades, one of cybersecurity's biggest challenges has been finding vulnerabilities before attackers do. A growing number of security professionals now say artificial intelligence is changing that equation, shifting the focus from discovering flaws to fixing them quickly enough to prevent exploitation.

  • Top View Shot in Elementary School Computer Science Classroom

    Education's Top 5 Technology Priorities and the Challenges Standing in the Way

    Cybersecurity ranks as the No. 1 priority for education technology leaders in the United States, according to the latest State of Ed Tech report from CoSN, yet insufficient cybersecurity staffing and the lack of a dedicated budget are key barriers.

  • Engineering team implements digital guardrails on AI

    3 Starting Points for Integrating AI Guardrails in K-12 Districts

    As education leaders start to craft an AI policy that is both practical and flexible enough to evolve with this fast-changing technology, there is at least one principle that should be foundational: AI should serve to augment human critical thinking and creativity but never replace human interaction and decision-making.