[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 147 (Tuesday, October 13, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S10359]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ACT

   Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I would like to congratulate the 
ACT organization, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, this year. 
As many of our colleagues know, ACT is an independent, nonprofit group 
based in Iowa City that provides an array of testing, assessment, and 
research services in the areas of education and workforce development.
  ACT was launched in 1959 as the American College Testing Program by a 
University of Iowa professor of education and colleagues from 16 
Midwestern States. Their goal was to help college-bound students find a 
good match for their interests and aptitudes, and to help colleges and 
universities place students into appropriate freshman-level classes.
  On November 7, 1959, about 75,000 students took the first ACT 
assessment. This year, nearly 1.5 million graduating seniors 45 percent 
of all high school graduates in the Nation took the ACT exam.
  From its relatively humble beginnings a half century ago, ACT has 
grown into an enterprise with a global reach. In addition to its 
testing and assessment services, it has developed programs to prepare 
students for success in college. It has created the National Career 
Readiness Certificate, a tool that thousands of educators and employers 
nationwide use to confirm that individuals have essential core 
employability skills. In addition, ACT is one of several partners in a 
new Manufacturing Skills Certification System designed by the National 
Association of Manufacturers, the Nation's largest industrial trade 
organization.
  In addition to its Iowa City headquarters, ACT has 12 field offices 
across the United States, as well as offices in Australia, Korea, 
China, Singapore, and Spain. It has a global workforce of nearly 1,500.
  I salute all of the superb professionals at ACT, whose vision and 
hard work have built an organization respected worldwide for its 
innovation and excellence. And I wish them even greater success in 
their next half century.

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