Get Your ACT Together: Everything You Need to Know About Significant Changes to the ACT
Change is on the horizon for the ACT, and some students may prefer – and perhaps benefit from – taking the new test. Beginning in 2025, the ACT will be shorter to allow students more time per question and the science section will be optional. The ACT organization is making these and other enhancements to provide a more flexible testing experience for students.
Certified Educational Planner Judi Robinovitz believes the new test will allow students to better play to their strengths.
“Students will have the flexibility to take the core ACT, the ACT with writing, the ACT with Science, or the comprehensive ACT with writing and science,” she said. “Offering options and allowing students to customize their test-taking experience gives them an opportunity to focus on their strongest skill sets, which may lead to more competitive test scores for some students.”
Summary of Changes
In a nutshell, the Reading and English passages will be shorter, and there will be fewer questions in each section. One passage will be an argumentative essay. The math section will have fewer lengthy word problems, the number of questions will be reduced, and each question will have four answer choices instead of five. The Science section, which currently has 40 questions and allows students 35 minutes, will be optional. Some colleges and scholarships may still require the Science section, so students should be familiar with admission requirements and plan accordingly. If students choose to take the Science portion, the new ACT will likely include fewer questions and more time to complete them. It will also include more scientific knowledge questions and at least one engineering problem. The writing portion will remain optional – and unchanged.
Another noteworthy change involves the ACT’s fifth section – known as the ‘experimental’ section because it isn’t factored into a student’s score. The ACT uses this section to test-pilot new material for future exams. Because students are aware that this section doesn’t count, many may not try their best. In response, the new ACT will incorporate experimental questions throughout the test. Students won’t know which questions are experimental, providing the ACT with more reliable data to develop continually evolving and relevant future tests that more accurately assess a student’s knowledge.
On average, the new core ACT will take students about two hours to complete, compared with about three hours for the current test.
“Feedback has indicated that the current ACT doesn’t allow the average student enough time to complete the test,” Robinovitz said. “The fundamental skills and knowledge evaluated will remain the same, but the new ACT with fewer questions and more time may provide students a more relaxed and focused experience.”
Timeframe of Changes
The new ACT will be introduced for national online testing in April 2025. Paper and international tests will reflect the new format in September 2025. Although district and state testing won’t use the new ACT until the spring of 2026, all tests will begin calculating Composite scores using only English, Reading and Math by September 2025.
The ACT – Past, Present and Future
Once the new test takes effect, ACT Composite scores will reflect the average of a student’s English, Reading, and Math scores. As with the current ACT, the section and Composite scores will be reported on a 1-36 scale. Also unchanged: students can still take the ACT on paper or online.
What do these changes mean for students ready to send colleges their scores? Timing is everything.
Students submitting ACT scores for national online exams prior to the April 2025 changes – and all other exams prior to the September 2025 changes – will have their English, Math, Reading, Science, and Composite scores sent to colleges.
Students submitting scores once the new test and scoring system are introduced will have only their English, Math, Reading, and Composite scores sent..
Looking ahead, if students apply to college in 2026 or beyond and choose to submit scores for tests taken before the 2025 changes, the ACT organization will submit the English, Math, Reading, Science, and Composite scores. This will allow colleges to generate an English, Reading, Math and Science superscore (the ACT organization will not rescore old exams using the new English, Math, Reading, and Composite).
Things get a bit more complicated if a student submits scores from both before and after the 2025 changes. In these cases, the ACT organization will send colleges the English, Math, Reading, Science, and Composite for old tests along with the English, Math, Reading, and Composites for the new tests. Colleges will use the information to generate an English, Reading, and Math superscore.
The ACT organization stated that the new test addresses feedback from students, educators and industry experts – and that they will continually evaluate the ACT to ensure that it remains a relevant, objective, and reliable predictor of student success.
But – with many colleges no longer requiring test scores, should students even take tests like the ACT or SAT? Industry experts like Robinovitz say yes. Although some colleges are test-optional, more and more still want to see scores because standardized test scores remain a more reliable predictor of a student’s success in college than GPA alone.
“Among other factors, colleges evaluate a student’s course rigor, academic performance, personal statement, and extracurricular involvement,” she said. “Because many college admission officers consider test scores an integral part of a holistic approach to student selection, submitting solid scores can strengthen an application and help a student stand out. The new, more flexible ACT may give some students an even greater opportunity to shine.”
Need help preparing for the ACT, SAT, or navigating your way through the complex college application process? Reach out to us! Our team of experts is here to guide you – every step of the way.
