A Baltimore testing provider company is pushing into K-12 education after purchasing an Idaho edtech firm.
Prometric's acquisition of EdPower will help CEO Stuart Udell achieve a goal he has had since taking over the firm last year, expanding into primary education. EdPower offers a platform for students to take tests online and provides data analysis tools for teachers to measure student performance. Udell believes Prometric can combine its expertise in career skills with tests intended to measure student standards, enabling the company to occupy a unique niche in education.
“By the time you get to middle school a lot of the focus is on how you become college or career-ready,” Udell said. “We can embed foundational career skills. There's skills that are translatable, like teamwork, communication and preparedness we can build into our assessments.”
The two companies first met in the Middle East, where both firms have clients. They stayed in touch for about a year before the deal closed in June. Prometric plans to retain EdPowers' headquarters in Boise, Idaho, to gain a foothold in that growing tech market. Prometric has offices around the world, including China and Ireland. All 20 EdPower staff will join Prometric’s about 3,000-person team, with Udell planning to add more staff to the Idaho office.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Prometric's main business focuses on professional skills certification and licensing exams and is not equipped for the K-12 space, Udell said.
“We have our own platforms, but to optimize them for the K-12 space would have cost more and taken a lot more time than just finding something great that was out there,” he said.
The EdPower acquisition also complements Prometric’s purchase of artificial intelligence firm FineTune in 2022. FineTune uses AI to make it easier for Prometric to create exams, while EdPower gives the company an online platform to administer exams to students. Districts are particularly looking for tests that can predict how a student will do on statewide exams like the Maryland State Assessmentment, Udell said. Outside of the acquisition, Prometric hired Jesús Jara the former head of the Clark County School District in Nevada as the new K-12 global practice leader for the company. As the superintendent of Clark County Schools, Jara oversaw 315,787 students.
It may seem like an odd time for Prometric to enter the primary school space. Many public school districts face budget cuts as federal pandemic aid runs out, leading to staff cuts. Udell is confident that even in this difficult financial situation, Prometric can find a customer base. He believes the combination of AI and assessments can help teachers identify gaps in learning to better help children. The majority of education funding from state and local government will also be unaffected by the decline in federal dollars, he added.
“We feel it's a really important part of our mission,” Udell said. “We think that if we do our jobs well, the economic returns will follow.”
Other Baltimore edtech companies have also managed to weather the declining education budgets and grow. Federal Hill edtech firm Concentric Educational Solutions grew from 20 staff in 2020 to 157 in April and recently added a health care division.
