Case Study: ACT, Inc. cuts test assembly time from weeks to days with FICO Xpress Optimization

A major testing organization turns to optimization to automate test development

ACT, Inc., the mission-driven nonprofit behind the ACT college entrance exam, faced a costly, time-consuming test development process: teams manually assembled forms from a 14,635-question pool under hundreds of metadata and statistical constraints, a task that could take two to four weeks and limited the organization’s ability to expand test dates and move to online, remotely proctored delivery.

By deploying FICO Xpress Optimization in the cloud (integrated with ACT’s Echo‑Adapt), ACT automated constraint-driven form assembly, cutting build time to about two days, generating millions of tests rapidly, enabling real‑time individualized forms, increasing test availability, and improving scalability — a transformation that earned industry recognition.

ACT

Dianne Henderson

Vice President