Author: sHq_LoGiNz

SAT Participation in the Class Of 2025 Surpasses 2 Million Test Takers

NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The 2025 SAT Suite of Assessments Annual Report shows that more than 2 million students in the high school class of 2025 took the SAT^® at least once, up from 1.97 million in the class of 2024. The class of 2025 was the first to surpass more than 2 million SAT takers since the covid-19 pandemic and the first majority-digital cohort, with 97% of students taking a digital SAT.

Experience the full interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/college_board/9317052-en-sat-participation-increases-first-time-since-2020

Consistent with the all-time high set by the class of 2024, 68% of SAT takers in this year’s graduating class took the SAT during the school day rather than on the weekend. The 2024-25 school year was the first full school year of digital testing for the SAT Suite in the United States, including the PSAT/NMSQT^® administered in fall 2024, the PSAT^™ 10 administered in spring 2025, and the SAT and PSAT^™ 8/9 assessments administered throughout the school year.

As SAT participation returns to pre-pandemic numbers, the class of 2025 is the fourth largest SAT cohort in the 100-year history of the assessment. The growth in test taking reinforces that students and educators in high schools and colleges recognize the value of the SAT as a way to identify students’ knowledge and strengths, and connect them to resources and opportunities for colleges, scholarships, and careers.

“SAT participation increasing alongside the complete transition to digital testing shows that students and educators continue to value the SAT and appreciate the overall digital testing experience,” said Priscilla Rodriguez, senior vice president of College Readiness Assessments. “With digital testing we are able to improve and enhance the student and school experience, while maintaining the rigor the SAT is known for: measuring the knowledge and skills that students need to succeed in college and career.”

Average SAT scores for the class of 2025 are 521 in Reading and Writing (RW) and 508 in Math. For more information on the 2025 results, read the full press release.

PSAT/NMSQT Testing Begins; 2025 Results

October is an important month for high school students as millions of 10th and 11th graders across the country will take the PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.) The PSAT/NMSQT is a key first step on the path to college and future opportunities.

The PSAT/NMSQT is the only qualifying test for the National Merit^® Scholarship Program, an academic competition for recognition and scholarships. The PSAT/NMSQT also provides students with benefits like connection to free SAT practice resources; information about their potential to succeed in Advanced Placement^® courses; more than $300 million in scholarship opportunities; opportunities to hear from colleges and scholarship programs; and resources like BigFuture School and Career Insights to explore college and career possibilities.

The PSAT/NMSQT measures the reading, writing, and math skills that students are learning in high school. Students can practice for the PSAT/NMSQT by taking practice tests on Bluebook, College Board’s student testing app, and by doing more focused, skill-based practice with Official Digital SAT Practice on Khan Academy. The PSAT/NMSQT also provides students with early practice for the SAT because it has the same skills and uses a common score scale.

Approximately 3.4 million students took the PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 in school during the 2024-25 school year. For more information about the test and how students can practice and prepare, visit psat.org.

About College Board 
College Board reaches more than 7 million students a year, helping them navigate the path from high school to college and career. Our not-for-profit membership organization was founded more than 120 years ago. We pioneered programs like the SAT^® and AP^® to expand opportunities for students and help them develop the skills they need. Our BigFuture^® program helps students plan for college, pay for college, and explore careers. Learn more at cb.org.

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SOURCE College Board

BIG SPRING, Texas, Oct. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — NNA Polymers Inc., a Texas-based manufacturer of specialty polymers, announced plans to build a 200,000-metric-ton-per-year polyacrylamide production facility in Big Spring, Texas. Startup is expected by late 2026.

The world-scale plant represents a major step toward strengthening a secure, reliable, and sustainable supply chain for polyacrylamide, a critical polymer used in water treatment, oil and gas, mining, and other industrial applications.

Integrated Monomer Supply

Unlike producers that rely on external suppliers, the new facility will feature a fully integrated raw material supply. This design ensures:

• Security of supply for customers during market disruptions
• Cost competitiveness by reducing exposure to third-party pricing
• Enhanced quality control through vertical integration and advanced process technologies

Strategic Location

Big Spring was selected for its logistics infrastructure, proximity to key customers, and access to energy and resources. The site will serve as a hub for polyacrylamide supply across North America, strengthening domestic manufacturing and reducing reliance on global supply chains.

Innovation and Sustainability

The facility will incorporate advanced process technologies to reduce environmental impact and improve efficiency. NNA Polymers remains committed to delivering polymers that meet performance requirements while supporting long-term sustainability goals.

About NNA Polymers

NNA Polymers Inc. is a Texas-based manufacturer specializing in high-performance polyacrylamide and related chemistries for industrial, municipal, and energy markets. With a focus on reliability, sustainability, and technical expertise, NNA Polymers partners with customers across North America to solve water treatment, solid-liquid separation, and process efficiency challenges. Learn more at www.nnapolymers.com.

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SOURCE NNA Polymers, Inc.

A New Survey Gives Insight into the Texas Homebuying Experience.

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Many buyers adjusted their price expectations in the first half of 2025, but not all in the same direction, according to the first-ever Texas Homebuying Experience Report released today by Texas Realtors. The report, which presents a snapshot of members’ experiences with buyer-clients, revealed that half of the Realtors surveyed worked with at least one client who increased the price range of homes they were considering. But 31% worked with at least one client who decreased their target price range.

“We talk about ‘the market,’ but there are so many micro-markets,” said Christy Gessler, Chairman of Texas Realtors. “Buyers appreciate how Realtors can drill down on the data that is relevant to their particular situation.”

Buyers have time and choices, but they also have competition

Generally, Realtors reported that their buyers felt comfortable with the availability of homes and the time they had to look for them, with only 3% saying they felt there was a shortage of available homes and 2% feeling very pressed for time to look. But multiple offers are still a factor, with 39% of Realtors reporting that they had clients who competed against other offers and 63% saying their most recent client who bought a home had previously put an offer on at least one other property.

Some buyers are waiting for rates or prices to drop

Among Realtors who had clients stop or pause a home search, 42% said it was because homes were too expensive. In open-ended comments, many Realtors described buyer-clients who were unsure of their timing, hoping that prices would fall but worrying that interest rates might continue to rise.

“The timing that’s right for the individual buyer is the right timing every time,” said Gessler. “The key isn’t to predict the future of mortgage rates or home prices; it’s to fully understand what clients need in the present. Realtors see it all in the homebuying process—the ups, the downs, the pain points, and the shifts in mood. And no one has a better on-the-ground understanding of homebuyers and their experiences than the Texas Realtors who are there helping them every step of the way.”

About the Texas Homebuying Experience Report

The Texas Homebuying Experience Report provides a snapshot of Texas Realtors’ perceptions about their work with buyers. The observations cover experiences Texas Realtors had with their buyer clients in January through June of 2025, regardless of whether a sale was completed.

About Texas Realtors

With more than 140,000 members, Texas
Realtors
 is a professional membership organization that represents all aspects of real estate in Texas. We are the advocate for Realtors and private property rights in Texas.

CONTACT
David Gibbs
Hahn Agency
david.gibbs@hahn.agency

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SOURCE Texas Realtors

ALLENTOWN, Pa. and DENVER, Oct. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The National Energy Improvement Fund (NEIF), a Certified B Corporation™ lender for energy efficiency improvements to homes and buildings, has purchased RKB Capital’s ownership interest in RBFunding LLC, the operational entity of the RebateBridge™ program. NEIF and RKB founded RBFunding in 2018 and have provided over $360 million in advance funding to implementors and contractors for rebates provided by Con Edison, PECO, PPL, PSE&G, Eversource, LADWP, California TECH Clean, and other utilities and programs.

“Our RebateBridge™ program accelerates cash flow for program implementors and contractors who participate in utility and other rebate programs. The rebate is assigned to us, and we advance funds to our program partners when the project is complete and the rebate is approved, bridging the period between project completion and final rebate funding. With RebateBridge™ fully under the NEIF umbrella we can now access lower cost of capital and streamline operational efficiency for this fast-growing market,” said Matthew H. Brown, NEIF Co-Chair and Managing Member.

NEIF has recently launched several new RebateBridge™ programs for utility programs nationally and is contracted to fund the state of New Mexico’s upcoming electrification rebate program. For more information on RebateBridge™ contact Jensen Handwork, Senior Director – Program Development at jhandwork@neifund.org.

Media Contacts

Peter Krajsa, NEIF Co-Chair | 402369@email4pr.com | 610 737-4977
Matthew H. Brown, NEIF Co-Chair | 402369@email4pr.com  | 720 246-8847
Jensen Handwork, NEIF Sr. Director – Program Development | 402369@email4pr.com | 720 689-2288

 About the National Energy Improvement Fund 

The National Energy Improvement Fund 

www.neifund.org

, based in Allentown, PA and Denver CO has a lending legacy from 1947 and was organized in 2017 as a for-profit Benefit Corporation, operating as a full-service, multi-state licensed consumer and commercial lender.  It has funded over 255,000 energy and resilience improvements for HVAC, roofing, lighting and battery storage for homes and businesses delivered through a network of over 1,800 qualified contractors. Led by energy financing pioneers Peter Krajsa, Matthew Brown, Laura Nelson and a team responsible for over $900 million in energy financing programs, it received its certification as a B Corporation® in 2018 and was named a U.S. Department of Energy Home Improvement Expert™ Partner in 2019.

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SOURCE National Energy Improvement Fund

Announced at Future Food-AgTech Festival (FFF2025)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Oct. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Agroz Inc. (NASDAQ: AGRZ) (the “Company,” “Agroz,” “we,” “our,” or “us”), a Malaysia-based innovative, fully vertically integrated agricultural technology (AgTech) company, today announced a strategic collaboration with U.S.-based Harvest Today, LLC, developer of the patented Harvest Wall™ growing system, to launch the Agroz Groz Wall.

The collaboration was unveiled at the Future Food-AgTech Festival (FFF2025) witnessed by Datuk Seri Isham Ishak, Secretary General at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, where Agroz is showcasing Agroz Tech and the Agroz Groz Wall at Booth 34, from 8 October to 12 October 2025 at the Oval Concourse, New Wing, 1 Utama Shopping Centre.

Under Agroz and Harvest Today’s collaboration, Agroz will integrate Harvest Today’s grow system as a key component to the development of the Agroz Groz Wall that will be offered to farms, hotels, restaurants, cafes and schools.

Why It Matters

• Food Security: Malaysia and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) rely heavily on imports for fresh produce. Localized vertical farms reduces dependence, enhances resilience and reduces carbon footprint by removing long travels from farm-to-plate.
• Sustainable Technology: The Company believes Agroz Groz Wall may enable pesticide-free, high-yield cultivation while using minimal water and space.
• Regional: Agroz Groz Wall will be offered for clients across ASEAN

“This collaboration underscores our vision of bringing Agroz’s freshest, nutrient rich, clean and pesticide free vegetables closest to where they are consumed, in hopes of making farm-to-plate a reality through food innovation and sustainability,” said Gerard K M Lim, CEO of Agroz.

“We are proud to bring the “Harvest Wall”™ to Southeast Asia with Agroz. Our goal is to demonstrate that vertical farming can thrive in tropical markets when you apply practical thinking and solid designs” said Rick Langille, CEO of Harvest Today.

On 1 October 2025, Agroz was successfully listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market, trading under the ticker symbol “AGRZ”. Agroz (NASDAQ: AGRZ) is the 1st Southeast Asian agricultural technology (AgTech) company to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

About Agroz
Agroz Inc. is an innovative, fully vertically integrated agricultural technology (AgTech) company designing, building, managing, and operating indoor Controlled Environment Agriculture (“CEA”) vertical farms. Agroz also operates CEA vertical farms in local communities to grow and deliver clean, pesticide free, fresh and nutritious rich vegetables directly to consumers and businesses, and to educate the public on how its vegetables are grown. Agroz believes its competitive advantage stems from its proprietary Agroz OS system, a vertical farm operating system comprised of (i) digitally automated hardware systems enabling management of vertical farm conditions, and (ii) use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in Agroz’s software solutions to operate the vertical farms.

About Harvest Today
Harvest Today is a U.S.-based agricultural technology company specializing in the Harvest Wall, a modular vertical grow system engineered for efficiency, sustainability, and local food cultivation. With operations expanding across Asia, Europe and the Middle East, Harvest Today enables growers to produce fresh food locally with scalable farms that reduce environmental impact.

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SOURCE Agroz Inc

New look, feel, sound and even the voice of Shaboozey, make every aspect of the brand as delicious as its pizza

Highlights: 

• The largest pizza company in the world is blending its heritage with a more playful, modern look and sound to reach the next generation of pizza lovers.
• You can’t say “Domino’s” without saying “mmm”: Domino’s is baking craveability into its jingle – “Dommmino’s^™.”
• Domino’s bolder, brighter colors, boxes and font are paired with the same delicious pizza customers already love.

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Domino’s Pizza Inc. (Nasdaq: DPZ) is launching its first brand refresh in 13 years, with the goal of making every aspect of the brand as craveable as what’s inside the box. The brand took inspiration from its past and present, and transformed it into modernized elements that will better reach current and future pizza lovers. Refreshed elements include hotter, more delicious colors, a bolder typeface and graphics, music that makes you hum along to familiar hits, brighter packaging and even a new name-bending jingle, “Dommmino’s,” brought to life by the voice of five-time GRAMMY^® nominated singer-songwriter Shaboozey. The new look and feel will roll out over the coming months across the U.S. and multiple international markets, with touchpoints including: TV and digital advertising, dominos.com, Domino’s ordering app, boxes, print materials, in-store graphics, and team member gear.

“Over the past decade, we became known as a technology company that happens to sell pizza,” said Kate Trumbull, Domino’s executive vice president – global chief marketing officer. “But with our Hungry for MORE strategy, we’re bringing the focus back to making and delivering the most delicious products and experience, which is what Domino’s customers really want. Rather than launching a more traditional tagline, we’re baking craveability right into our name and every aspect of our brand as a reminder of this relentless focus. You literally can’t say ‘Domino’s’ without saying ‘mmm.'”

Updated Brand Elements

• Name-Bending Jingle: Rather than bolting on a tagline like many brands, Domino’s is launching a new audio and visual expression of its name, which it calls a “Cravemark,” designed to be memorable, fun to mimic, and brought to life by one of the most craveable voices in music today: Shaboozey.
  • “Pizza is that one food that brings everyone together – different people and generations and cultures – and no one does it better than Domino’s,” said Shaboozey. “It was a fun challenge to be the voice for the most craveable food.”
• Brighter Packaging: Perhaps Domino’s most important new element is an updated suite of boxes, putting the brand’s iconic logo into customers’ hands with a simple approach that is designed to be vibrant and instantly recognizable. Domino’s signature Handmade Pan and Parmesan Stuffed Crust boxes will also showcase a more premium, indulgent feel with an exclusive black and metallic gold take on its logo.
• Hotter Colors: Domino’s is keeping its iconic red and blue, but evolving them into the hottest version of each, as a nod to the melty heat of a pizza pulled fresh from the oven.
• Bolder Font: The brand’s new font, “Domino’s Sans,” will be thicker and doughier, with perfect circles and semi circles in nod to pizza, with lots of personality baked right in!
• Additional Updates: The brand refresh also brings vibrancy to dominos.com and the ordering app, with more youthful team member gear, in-store graphics, as well as brighter digital and print materials. The refresh will also help define how Domino’s launches bolder menu innovations and more modern consumer-facing elements in the future.

“Most companies rebrand themselves when they’re struggling, but after years of category-defying growth, this refresh is about continuing to push to be the best version of ourselves,” said Trumbull. “It’s vibrant, it’s bold, and it’s fun. It’s pizza!”

About Domino’s Pizza^®
Founded in 1960, Domino’s Pizza is the largest pizza company in the world, with a significant business in both delivery and carryout. It ranks among the world’s top public restaurant brands with a global enterprise of more than 21,500 stores in over 90 markets. Domino’s had global retail sales of over $19.4 billion in the trailing four quarters ended June 15, 2025. Its system is comprised of independent franchise owners who accounted for 99% of Domino’s stores as of the end of the second quarter of 2025. In the U.S., Domino’s generated more than 85% of U.S. retail sales in 2024 via digital channels and has developed many innovative ordering platforms.

Order – dominos.com
Company Info – biz.dominos.com
Media Assets – media.dominos.com

About Shaboozey
5X GRAMMY^® nominated singer-songwriter Shaboozey is building his own world, carving his lane in the alternative country and hip-hop space. Born to parents of Nigerian descent and raised in the small town of Woodbridge, VA, the multi-faceted artist grew up on an eclectic mix of music encompassing classic hip-hop and R&B, country and blues icons like Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers, Garth Brooks, and Lead Belly, to master lyricists, such as Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. A true crossover artist, he began his epic rise to stardom with two standout features on Beyoncé’s COWBOY CARTER—the only artist with multiple appearances on the album. His latest body of work, the critically acclaimed masterpiece Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going, debuted in the top five of the Billboard 200 and was praised by The New York Times for “bring[ing] hip-hop grit to country” and by Rolling Stone for “honoring country tradition and moving it forward.”  The album’s breakthrough anthem, the RIAA-Diamond certified “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” holds the record for the longest-leading Hot 100 No. 1 while also topping Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay Chart, and Mediabase/Country Aircheck charts. The single has accumulated over a billion streams across DSPs and made history, making Shaboozey the first Black male artist to simultaneously top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs and Hot 100. In conjunction with the release,  Shaboozey received major critical recognition and a wide array of nominations at the GRAMMY Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, Country Music Association Awards, iHeartRadio Music Awards, and MTV Video Music Awards, along with wins at the Billboard Music Awards and People’s Choice Country Awards. Continuing to raise the bar with each release, his follow-up single “Good News” earned Shaboozey his second #1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay Chart. Staying true to his Virginian roots, Shaboozey strives to continue the region’s long-standing tradition of prolific creativity, this time by expanding the scope of contemporary hip-hop and introducing modern Americana to a global audience. His debut headline Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going tour sold out in every market and he played arenas nationwide as part of Jelly Roll’s Beautifully Broken tour. He is currently embarking on his 2025 The Great American Roadshow Tour.

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SOURCE Domino’s Pizza