Like the SAT, the ACT “is an entrance exam used by most colleges and universities to make admissions decisions,” according to The Princeton Review. It measures how ready a student is for college and allows universities a data point that can be compared among applications. Some students take the ACT, others take the SAT and some take both.
The ACTs are offered nationally beginning in September, and almost monthly during the school year. The test is typically taken in the spring by juniors or fall for seniors. To see the upcoming dates, click here .
Before the change, the test was comprised of four sections: English, reading, math and science. This year, however, students will be able to skip taking the science portion, Janet Godwin, ACT CEO, said in a news release . Like the writing portion, students will have to opt into an additional testing section for science. They can also decide to take both writing and science, just writing or neither of the extra sections.
The tests will also be shorter this year by about a third. The core test of English, reading and math will be two hours instead of the current three-hour time frame.
To cut down on the time needed to take the test, the exam will have shorter passages in the reading and English sections. There will be 44 fewer questions across the three parts.
The test can be taken online or on a traditional pencil-and-paper version, CNN reported.
The SAT also shortened its test to 2 hours and got rid of a pen-and-paper version, transitioning to online-only, USA Today reported.
You do have to pay for the test. The core ACT is $65, if you opt into the writing portion it is $94 for both parts. The cost for the science portion or both the writing and science option has not been posted. There are also waivers to offset the cost. For more information, visit the ACT waiver page .
To register for the ACT this year, visit the test’s website .
The ACT changes will take effect in the spring of 2025 for online testing and will be available in the spring of 2026 for school-day testing, Godwin said in the announcement .
About 60% of the class of 2023 took the ACT at least once, CNN and the organization said.
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