Desmos Calculator Now Available on the Online ACT Test
The ACT just announced that the powerful Desmos Calculator will be embedded into the online version of the ACT test starting with the December online ACT. Please check out our Online ACT Desmos Guide for several tips and tricks that will help you make the most of this resource. In addition to the built-in calculator, be sure to use a hand-held graphing calculator when you take the ACT. It remains to be seen how much having the built-in Desmos calculator will make a difference for students who do the online version of the test. Until we have more conclusive information
Free ACT & SAT Help Sessions
BWS Education Consulting President Brian Stewart will be presenting several free ACT and SAT help sessions in partnership with the Columbus Public Library. This is an excellent learning opportunity for students who cannot afford private SAT and ACT tutoring. The dates/times and Zoom links are as follows: Tuesday, 9/9/25 4-4:45 p.m. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88548883607 Wednesday, 9/24/25 4-4:45 p.m. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87266704850 Tuesday, 10/7/25 4-4:45 p.m. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86104536582 Wednesday, 10/22/25 4-4:45 p.m. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87266704850 Tuesday, 11/4/25 4-4:45 p.m. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86104536582 Wednesday, 11/19/25 4-4:45 p.m. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81892662775 Tuesday, 12/2/25 4-4:45 p.m. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86104536582 Wednesday, 12/10/25 4-4:45 p.m. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81677503799
Preparation Material for the New, Enhanced ACT
The ACT has just released a free “Preparing for the ACT” booklet that models the new format that students taking the paper ACT in September will see. Here is a link to it: Preparing for the ACT 2025-26 Booklet Students will notice that the English questions all have prompts, the Math section no longer has sets of questions on a common table or chart, the Reading section has four fewer questions, and the Science consistently has seven passages. In addition to this free preparation book, the ACT has made four tests available in the new paper-based format in their new
Ohio State University will require ACT and SAT Scores
In a major announcement, The Ohio State University has decided to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirements for applicants to the main Columbus campus in the 2026 application cycle. In addition, Ohio State will now “superscore” the ACT and SAT–they will take the best section score over multiple test attempts. Ohio State had been one of the major schools that many of our students had to plan on submitting a single test score. It appears that students applying to the Ohio State branch campuses will still have the option to submit their SAT or ACT scores. As Ohio State has become more
New Practice SAT Tests from College Board Coming in February
The College Board just announced that they will be changing three of their SAT practice tests and adding a full new SAT practice test. Further details about this change are available here: https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/practice/practice-tests/bluebook Over the course of 2024, the content of the SAT tests on Bluebook has changed as the College Board has had opportunities to refine the tests based on actual student performance. Once these changes are in place, students can have more confidence that the scores they receive on their Bluebook tests will be fair representations of how they will perform on the actual SAT. These “growing pains”