Marketplace K-12

K-12 Dealmaking: NWEA Acquires Testing Assets From ETS; Social Learning Platform Raises $10M

Emma Kate Fittes
Staff Writer

NWEA, the nonprofit ed-tech provider known for its interim assessments, will acquire some assessment-related technology from testing organization ETS and take over its contracts with several states.

Through the acquisition, NWEA will take control of ETS’ cloud-based enterprise assessment platform. And NWEA will acquire a non-exclusive license for innovative content and performance tasks from ETS’ assessment program, Winsight, according to the announcement.

Additionally, NWEA will take over state assessment contracts and associated technology from Questar Assessments, an ETS subsidiary, for Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, and New York.

The merger is a “big step forward” in NWEA’s efforts to “partner with states to create balanced assessment systems that leverage data in new ways,” the company said in its announcement.

“We have a shared mission of supporting education equity, and this deal allows for ETS to continue our work in the K-12 market to support students, parents, educators and states in expanding education opportunities,” ETS President and CEO Walt MacDonald said in a statement.

The two companies said they will continue to collaborate to serve other states.

Interactive content creation platform raises $20 million. Genially, an interactive content creation platform used in both educational and corporate contexts, raised $20 million in Series B funding.

The round was lead by U.S. VC firms 645 Ventures and Owl Ventures, with participation from European VC firms DN Capital and Brighteye Ventures as well as entrepreneurs including the founders of Kahoot.

The funding will be used to accelerate the company’s goal of setting a global standard in content creation, according to the announcement.

“We want to create a new standard in communication with interactive content at its core,” co-founder and CEO Juan Rubio said in a statement. “We believe that this round is an important step towards realizing this vision, not so much for the capital received but rather because of the value offered by our new partners.”

Genially was founded in 2015 in Spain, but has since opened an office in New York. The company has more than 10 million creators in 190 countries, according to the company.

Social learning platform completes Series A funding. Fiveable, a social learning platform, raised $10 million in Series A funding. The round was lead by Union Square Ventures with participation from Owl Ventures and Progression Fund.

The company plans to use the funding to build student-led online spaces, such as interactive study rooms and community-powered content libraries. The goal is to help students take ownership and expose them to new realities and opportunities, according to the announcement.

“Despite the inequities that remain across schools, this next generation of students refuses to wait for systemic change–and frankly, they don’t have the time to do so,” Fiveable co-founder and CEO Amanda DoAmaral said in a statement. “Students are already finding one another online in their quest for support, motivation, and information; we’re just elevating that experience by providing the much-needed infrastructure for social learning.”

This comes after the company acquired the virtual studying platform, Hours, earlier this year.

Fiveable has served more than 7 million high school students since 2018, according to the company. The company’s first online community was created for Advanced Placement test prep. Next it looks to expand to create communities that cover SAT and ACT prep, college and career exploration, vocational training, finances, mental health, and activism.

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