Exam Design Acquired by Pearson VUE

Triangle-based Exam Design, Inc announced today that the company has been acquired by Pearson VUE for an undisclosed amount. 

Scott Bublitz, Ph.D. founder of Exam Design, Inc, is a FastTrac® TechVenture™ alum. Read below for text from the press release issued by Pearson VUE. Readers may also be interested in viewing a full story profiling Bublitz and Exam Design. 

The purchase includes ownership of Exam Design’s flagship product, ExamDeveloper, a web-based suite of tools that helps users develop rigorous and defensible assessments for credentialing purposes while reducing the reliance on in-person meetings. These tools will allow Pearson VUE to more fully serve its clients’ current and future test development needs by supporting every step in the process, including job analysis, item banking, standard setting, and statistical analysis, with a flexible, user-friendly solution. ExamDeveloper will also enhance Pearson VUE’s test development offering by streamlining such processes as remote item authoring, Automated Test Assembly (ATA), version tracking, and QTI-based test publishing.

Pearson VUE has been working with Exam Design for over a year and currently publishes exams created through ExamDeveloper for a variety of clients. Because the company has been a proven and trusted technology partner, Pearson VUE is confident the acquisition is a good fit from both a technological and cultural perspective. Headquartered in North Carolina, the Exam Design business and its employees will remain in their current locations, further supporting a seamless acquisition.

“We’re very enthusiastic about joining the Pearson VUE family of products and services,” said Scott Bublitz, Ph.D., founder of Exam Design, in a statement. “By formally integrating our exam development technology with Pearson VUE’s comprehensive suite of testing services, together we can offer credentialing organizations an unparalleled solution that supports every facet of high-stakes testing. Clients will enjoy a more streamlined and efficient process, from item authoring through exam delivery.”

In a statement, Robert Whelan, CEO and President of Pearson VUE, said: “Exam Design brings to Pearson VUE leading-edge test development technology that’s built on principles of psychometric integrity. Its expertise and services complement our own and fit perfectly with our future plans. This acquisition underscores our commitment to providing next-generation test development tools and services that support and protect the value of our clients’ credentials.