Changes coming Spring 2025 on the ACT™!!

The ACT™ is changing, but not to worry! These changes will ultimately make the test easier for students. Starting in Spring 2025, the following changes to the ACT™ will take place:

·      The Science section will be optional. It remains to be seen whether colleges will still encourage students to take this section, but having the option not to will greatly reduce the time required to take the ACT™.

·      Fewer questions and more time per question. The English section will go from 75 questions and 45 minutes to 50 questions and 35 minutes, increasing the average time per question from 36 seconds to 42 seconds. Math will go from 60 questions in 60 minutes to 45 questions in 50 minutes, an increase of nearly 7 seconds per question. Reading, a notoriously time-crunched section, will have 4 fewer questions and add five minutes, increasing the average time per question by a whopping 14 seconds. And Science, if the student chooses to take it, will still have 40 questions but will now have 45 minutes to complete it instead of 35.

·      Shorter test. The combination of the optional Science section and reduced time on the English and Math means that the core test will go from 2 hours and 55 minutes to 2 hours and 5 minutes, shorter than the digital SAT™!

What isn’t changing is the scoring; ACT™ scores will still be from 1-36, and will still be an average of the sections on the core test. Colleges will still be able to compare scaled scores from before and after the changes take effect. Ultimately, these changes will result in a less stressful testing process for students, while still allowing colleges to compare test scores and make admissions decisions.