Summer Intern - Academic Measurement, Research and Development

Your Work Makes a Difference at ACT

Education has power – a power that changes lives forever. It creates opportunities that lift up individuals, their families, and sparks societal change that echoes through generations to come. From our grassroots we have fought the good fight for inclusivity in education, and we remain devoted to helping anyone who struggles to access that power. This is what matters to us and we must do better -- we’ve never been more sure of our purpose.

ACT Education Corp. team members are part of an organization dedicated to an important mission: Helping people achieve education and workplace success. Advancing the mission internally, by helping team members achieve education and workplace success of their own, is core to our values. ACT values a diverse workplace and is committed to fostering an inclusive environment in which every team member has equal opportunity to grow.

We are seeking a Summer Intern - Academic Measurement, Research and Development.

Internship Overview

The summer research intern will work with researchers and content developers within ACT’s Digital Science team. Our research goal is to establish ACT’s authority as a trusted leader in the field of educational research and to use this expertise and knowledge to increase the efficacy and equity of our products and solutions. Candidates will be working remotely for the 10-week duration of the internship.

Location: This is a remote internship, based in the United States.

Duration: The internship is scheduled to run from Monday June 8, 2026 to Friday August 14, 2026, but can be flexible for the right candidate.

Pay Rate: For this position, we anticipate offering an hourly rate of $23.00. The position is not incentive or benefits eligible.

Work Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Central Time, but can be flexible for the right candidate.

Research Opportunities

In addition to gaining experience by working with the current team members to create and refine assessments and learning materials, candidates will have the opportunity to design and conduct original research studies on building machine learning applications in educational context and publish to peer-reviewed venues. Successful candidates will be matched to research studies in their field of study and interests.

Possible research studies for the summer include, but are not limited to:

• Creating and refining machine learning models used for automated essay scoring or for predicting item performance.
• Developing AI/ML-based applications/capabilities to help subject matter experts: author passages and create graphics; locate appropriate source material for passages.
• Developing AI/ML-based applications for test prep.

Typical Job-related Activities

• Design and execute original research studies
• Develop machine learning models and prototype applications
• Data cleaning and analysis
• Write and present reports on analysis results

Qualifications

Education:

• BA in psychometrics, educational psychology, statistics, computer science, machine learning, human-computer interaction, or related field
• Must be working toward Ph.D. in a related field

Experience:

• Proficient in programming languages (Python or R preferred) and AI/ML packages (e.g., scikit-learn, pytorch, etc.)
• Excellent writing skills
• Thrive in cross-team collaboration environments
• Excellent communication skills
• Strong work ethic
• Knowledge of: Artificial Intelligence/Machine learning methods, psychological/educational assessments, user-experience research/design methods

About ACT

When ACT was founded in 1959, it disrupted the assessment industry with a new approach to helping students better understand their readiness so they could take steps to improve it. By leveraging our expertise and authority in assessment and research, we will again disrupt the industry—helping more people learn, better measure their progress, and improve their navigation through life’s transitions.

More than ever before, ACT is fulfilling its mission of helping people achieve education and workplace success. We’re doing it by pushing the boundaries of learning innovation through the work of our people, who we call team members because we’re all in this together.

We know transformation does not come without challenge. That’s why ACT invests in a variety of experiences for team members to strengthen their connections, explore ideas, learn from customers, and celebrate success.

Learn more about working at ACT at act.org!

Key skills/competency

• Machine Learning
• AI Development
• Educational Research
• Data Analysis
• Psychometrics
• Python
• R Programming
• Scikit-learn
• PyTorch
• Technical Writing