[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 148 (Wednesday, October 14, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2533]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CONGRATULATING ACT, INC., ON ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID LOEBSACK

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 14, 2009

  Mr. LOEBSACK. Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize and 
congratulate ACT, Inc., on its 50th anniversary, and 50 years of 
accomplishments. ACT, originally American College Testing Program, was 
founded in Iowa's first state capitol in Iowa City, IA, in 1959. The 
goal was to help all students who wanted to attend college find the 
best match for their interests and abilities 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; 
in the high school graduating class of 2009 nearly 1.5 million 
students--45 percent of all high school graduates in our nation took 
the ACT.
  While ACT started with a single focus, the organization now conducts 
research and offers a broad array of programs and services to help 
provide solutions to many of the complex education and workforce 
problems facing our nation and those abroad. ACT, with its educational 
knowledge, has expanded to help bridge the barriers that remain in 
accessing the globalized marketplace for millions of individuals around 
the globe. Through local partnerships in 13 countries ACT is working to 
improve the educational opportunities for the students and help teach 
English as a second language.
  I am honored to represent many of the employees of ACT here in the 
U.S. House of Representatives. I congratulate them and all of the ACT 
employees, directors, and members of state organizations on their 50-
year history of helping people achieve education and workplace success.

                          ____________________