In July 2024, the ACT – a model of consistency for decades – announced substantial changes to the exam. This post will break down what we know about these changes so far and the questions we have at this early stage.
What is changing?
Let’s get straight to the nuts and bolts first – there are two major changes:
- The Science section will be optional. The ACT currently has four equally-weighted sections: English, Math, Reading, and Science. When the ACT goes Science-Optional, the Composite score (out of 36) will only average the English, Math, and Reading sections. The notion of an optional section isn’t new for the ACT; the Writing has been optional for years, and has become less and less important as colleges have signaled that they’re devaluing it.
- The test will be shorter. In its press release announcing the changes, the ACT stated that the English and Reading passages would be shorter and the new test would contain 44 fewer questions than the current test. The ACT has been experimenting with a shorter, online-only exam, from which we can make some inferences about what a shorter test might look like – the big takeaway is that the new Science-Optional exam is likely to be about 50 minutes shorter than the current test:
| Section | Current ACT | New ACT with Science | New ACT without Science |
| English | 75 questions, 45 minutes | 50 questions, 35 minutes | 50 questions, 35 minutes |
| Math | 60 questions, 60 minutes | 45 questions, 50 minutes | 45 questions, 50 minutes |
| Reading | 40 questions, 35 minutes | 36 questions, 40 minutes | 36 questions, 40 minutes |
| Science | 40 questions, 35 minutes | 40 questions, 45 minutes | – |
| Total | 215 questions, 2:55 | 171 questions, 2:50 | 131 questions, 2:05 |
There is one other small change – it appears that students will no longer take an unscored, “experimental section” at the end of each exam. (These items are used to test out problems for future exams, among other things.) Rather, experimental, unscored problems will be folded into each section. The SAT took the same approach with its digital exam.
When are the changes going into effect?
The ACT offers seven National test dates per academic year. The earliest test for which the changes will occur is in April 2025, to the National online test only. (This is the test I mentioned above, which the ACT piloted this past school year.) The in-school exam in March 2025, taken by all Wisconsin public school students and some private school students, will remain in the current format, as will all paper-pencil tests through the end of the 2024-25 school year. Changes will then arrive in the paper-pencil version next fall. So:
- Rising sophomores (class of 2027) WILL be affected by the change across the board. From what we know so far, it seems like the ACT will roll out the shorter, Science-Optional format in the paper-pencil version in September 2025, and that format will also be in place for in-school testing in March 2026.
- Rising juniors (class of 2026) MAY be affected by this change if…
- They choose to take the ACT in the online format rather than in the paper-pencil format in Spring 2025, OR
- They take the test in fall of their senior year.
Is this actually good for students?
Some pros and cons:
- Pros:
- The full test is shorter, even including the optional science section. Few students will ever complain about taking a shorter exam.
- The English and Reading passages are shorter, too, which should also be a welcome change.
- Students get more time per question across all sections of the test, with the biggest increases coming on the Reading and Science sections. A few extra seconds per question might not sound like much, but it adds up over the course of a full test:
| Section | Current Test | New Test |
| English | 36 seconds per question | 42 seconds per question |
| Math | 60 seconds per question | 67 seconds per question |
| Reading | 53 seconds per question | 67 seconds per question |
| Science | 53 seconds per question | 68 seconds per question (Optional) |
| Total | 49 seconds per question | 59 seconds per question (with Science)
57 seconds per question (without Science) |
- Cons
- There will be considerable uncertainty, at least for a while, about how colleges will handle the optional Science section. Thus, many students will feel that it is not optional at all, and that they should still take it if they’re trying to get into a selective college. It’ll take us at least a few years to get all of that information and data from colleges.
- By necessity, the scoring and scaling will change. Right now, our tutors can give students a pretty good sense of what their scores will be based on the number of questions they get correct on each section, and we have data going back many years to reinforce these score/scale conversions. Now, with fewer questions per section, the scaling is going to look a bit different.
- Rising juniors especially will contend with multiple versions of the exam from Spring through Fall 2025 (paper-pencil vs. online, current vs. new with Science vs. new without Science)
Why is this happening?
Competition and contracts.
- On the competition side, it’s an understandable reaction to the SAT’s transition to a fully digital, adaptive exam in Spring 2024. Similar to the new version of the ACT, the digital SAT includes shorter English and Reading passages and wraps up in 2 hours and 14 minutes. Aside from some scoring uncertainty and inconsistency, the digital SAT rollout has gone decently well.
- Regarding contracts, the ACT and SAT are always trying to outdo one another to secure lucrative state funds. The state of Wisconsin contracts with the ACT as a high school exam, which is why Wisconsin public schools offer the exam each March. A shorter test makes the ACT more attractive.
What don’t we know yet?
Lots of things…
- Administration
- When exactly does the paper-pencil version switch to the new format? Is it definitely in September 2025?
- Will the paper-pencil test ever go away, as it did with the SAT?
- Will the online version be adaptive like the SAT? (Indications are probably not, at least in the short- to medium-term.)
- How will sites handle likely increased demand for online testing?
- Content
- How much shorter will the English and Reading passages be?
- How will math content be pared down to fit a shorter exam? What content will be de-emphasized?
- Will Science-type questions (charts, graphs, tables) be folded into the other sections? If so, how?
- Implications for admissions
- To what extent will the scores on the new ACT be comparable to scores on the current ACT? To the SAT?
- For students who take different versions of the ACT, how will superscoring work? (Superscores combine students’ best sections across multiple tests.)
- How will colleges, especially the most highly-selective schools, handle the optional Science section? Will they require it, or will it slowly fade away like the ACT Writing?
We at Galin are staying on top of the news and are here to help families and students through this upcoming transition. Keep an eye out for further details on these big changes as we learn more, including a webinar coming up on August 12. And feel free to reach out to us in the meantime with any questions!
