ACT (test)
The ACT is a standardized test used for college admissions in the United States. It is administered by ACT, Inc., a for-profit organization of the same name. The ACT test covers three academic skill areas: English, mathematics, and reading. It also offers optional scientific reasoning and direct writing tests. It is accepted by many four-year colleges and universities in the United States as well as more than 225 universities outside of the U.S.
The multiple-choice test sections of the ACT are individually scored on a scale of 1–36. In addition, a composite score consisting of the rounded whole number average of the scores for English, reading, and math is provided.
The ACT was first introduced in November 1959 by University of Iowa professor Everett Franklin Lindquist as a competitor to the SAT. The ACT originally consisted of four tests: English, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Natural Sciences. In 1989, however, the Social Studies test was changed into a Reading section, and the Natural Sciences test was renamed the Science Reasoning test, with more emphasis on problem-solving skills as opposed to memorizing scientific facts. In February 2005, an optional Writing Test was added to the ACT. By the fall of 2017, computer-based ACT tests were available for school-day testing in limited school districts of the US, with greater availability expected in fall of 2018. In July 2024, the ACT announced that the test duration was shortened; the science section, like the writing one, would become optional; and online testing would be rolled out nationally in spring 2025 and for school-day testing in spring 2026.
The ACT has seen a gradual increase in the number of test takers since its inception, and in 2012 the ACT surpassed the SAT for the first time in total test takers; that year, 1,666,017 students took the ACT and 1,664,479 students took the SAT.
Function
ACT, Inc., says that the ACT assessment measures high school students' general educational development and their capability to complete college-level work with the multiple choice tests covering four skill areas: English, mathematics, reading, and science. The optional Writing Test measures skill in planning and writing a short essay. Specifically, ACT states that its scores provide an indicator of "college readiness", and that scores in each of the subtests correspond to skills in entry-level college courses in English, algebra, social science, humanities, and biology. According to a research study conducted by ACT, Inc. in 2003, there was a relationship between a student's ACT composite score and the probability of that student earning a college degree.To develop the test, ACT incorporates the objectives for instruction from middle and high schools throughout the United States, reviews approved textbooks for subjects taught in Grades 7–12, and surveys educators on which knowledge skills are relevant to success in postsecondary education. ACT publishes a technical manual that summarizes studies conducted on its validity in predicting freshman GPA, equating different high school GPAs, and measuring educational achievement.
Colleges use the ACT and the SAT because there are substantial differences in funding, curricula, grading, and difficulty among U.S. secondary schools due to American federalism, local control, the prevalence of private, distance, homeschooled students, and lack of a rigorous college entrance examination system similar those used in some other countries. ACT scores are used to supplement the secondary school record and help admission officers put local data—such as coursework, grades, and class rank—in a national perspective.
The majority of colleges do not indicate a preference for the SAT or ACT exams and accept both, being treated equally by most admissions officers. According to "Uni in the USA", colleges that also require students to take the SAT Subject Tests do so regardless of whether the candidate took the SAT or ACT; however, some colleges accept the ACT in place of the SAT subject tests and some accept the optional ACT Writing section in place of an SAT Subject Test.
Most colleges use ACT scores as only one factor in the admission process. A sampling of ACT admissions scores shows that the 75th percentile composite score was 24.1 at public four-year institutions and 25.3 at private four-year institutions.
In addition, some states and individual school districts have used the ACT to assess student learning and/or the performance of schools, requiring all high school students to take the ACT, regardless of whether they are college bound. Colorado and Illinois were the first to incorporate the ACT as part of their mandatory testing program in 2001. Other states followed suit in subsequent years. During the 2018–2019 school year, 13 states will administer the ACT test to all public school 11th graders, and another six states will fund ACT test administration as an option or choice for districts.
While the exact manner in which ACT scores will help to determine admission of a student at American institutions of higher learning is generally a matter decided by the individual institution, some foreign countries have made ACT scores a legal criterion in deciding whether holders of American high school diplomas will be admitted at their public universities.
File:SAT-ACT-Preference-Map.svg|thumb|This map of the United States shows the states in which more seniors in the class of 2024 took the SAT than the ACT, and the states in which more seniors took the ACT than the SAT.
The ACT is more widely used in the Midwestern, Rocky Mountain, and Southern United States, whereas the SAT is more popular on the East and West coasts. Recently, however, the ACT is being used more on the East Coast. Use of the ACT by colleges has risen as a result of various criticisms of the effectiveness and fairness of the SAT.
Format
The required portion of the ACT is divided into three multiple-choice subject tests: English, mathematics, and reading. Subject test scores, including the optional science section, range from 1 to 36; all scores are integers. The English, mathematics, and reading tests also have subscores ranging from 1 to 18. In addition, students taking the optional writing test receive a writing score ranging from 2 to 12 ; the optional science and writing scores do not affect the composite score. Prior to September 2015, there was a Combined English/Writing score, which was a 36-point combination of the 36-point English Test score and the 12-point Writing subscore. The ACT has eliminated the Combined English/writing score and has added two new combined scores: ELA and STEM. These changes for the writing, ELA, and STEM scores were effective starting with the September 2015 test.Each question answered correctly is worth one raw point, and there is no penalty for marking incorrect answers on the multiple-choice parts of the test; a student can answer all questions without a decrease in their score due to incorrect answers. This is parallel to several AP Tests eliminating the penalties for incorrect answers. To improve the result, students can retake the test: 55% of students who retake the ACT improve their scores, 22% score the same, and 23% see their scores decrease.
English
The first section is the 45-minute English test covering usage/mechanics, sentence structure, and rhetorical skills. The 75-question test consists of five passages with various sections underlined on one side of the page and options to correct the underlined portions on the other side of the page. Specifically, questions focus on usage and mechanics – issues such as commas, apostrophes, modifiers, colons, and fragments and run-ons – as well as on rhetorical skills – style, strategy, transitions, and organization – and sentence structure – constructing sentences in a stylistically and grammatically correct manner.Math
The second section is a 60-minute, 60-question math test with the usual distribution of questions being approximately 14 covering pre-algebra, 10 elementary algebra, 9 intermediate algebra, 14 plane geometry, 9 coordinate geometry, and 4 elementary trigonometry questions. However, the distribution of question topics varies from test to test. The difficulty of questions usually increases as a test taker moves on to higher question numbers.Calculators are permitted in this section only. Similarly to the SAT, computer algebra systems are not allowed; however, the ACT permits calculators with paper tapes, that make noise, or that have power cords with certain "modifications", which the SAT does not allow. Standard graphing calculators, such as the TI-83 and TI-84, are allowed. Within the TI-Nspire family, the standard and CX versions are allowed while the CX CAS is not.
As of April 2025 for online tests, and September 2025 for paper-and-pencil tests, each math question has four answer choices instead of five.