The New ACT and What to Expect

By now, many students have heard that the ACT is changing with their slow roll out of the “new ACT” starting in 2025. However, the ACT hasn’t released many details until recently. Read on to learn how each part of the ACT will be changed in this newest iteration of the old familiar test.

English:

The biggest change in the English section is in the wording of the questions. The old ACT often lacked what is called a question stem. In other words, there were no questions, merely a list of options. Students had to read lengthy directions at the beginning of the test to understand that picking any given option would replace the underlined part of the sentence with the option selected. The new ACT will have a question stem for every question instead of just a list of answers. Consequently, the ACT anticipates that students will be better able to understand the task at hand.

In addition, the new English section will have only 50 questions instead of 75 and will only take 35 minutes to complete instead of 45.

Math:

On the current version of the ACT, one of the more interesting parts of the math is that each question has five answer options. On most other multiple choice standardized tests and on the other sections of the ACT there are only four options. The New ACT math will be adjusted to reflect this standard with one of the incorrect answer options or “foils” eliminated so that there are only four answer options from which to choose.

In addition, the math test is being cut from 60 questions to 45 and from 60 minutes to 50, giving students slightly more time to think through each question.

Reading:

 
While initial reports claimed that ACT might change the length of the reading passages, this has not happened, instead, each of the four passages will have nine questions instead of ten. In addition, 40 minutes will be allotted to finish the 36 questions where the old ACT only allowed for 35 minutes to finish 40 questions.

Science:

The big shake up with the science is that it will be optional! Since most other standardized tests do not test scientific thinking in its own separate section, the ACT has decided that this section will not be required. How colleges react to this is yet to be seen. Some may require it for all students or for no students. Others may require it for certain majors or programs. The science score will not impact the student’s cumulative ACT score under the new format.

In addition, the New ACT has decided to allow for five extra minutes on the science section, granting students more time for the critical thinking it requires.

Takeaways:

The ACT is adapting to reduce the length of the test while still giveing students more time to think about questions and to bring their testing format into line with generally accepted educational practices.

Students can see and practice the new format with the practice tests found here:
https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/test-changes/online-testing/sample-questions.html




Changes to the ACT in 2025

In response to the shorter, digital version of the SAT, the ACT announced that they too will be modifying their test.  The two major problems students have with the ACT are (1) it takes too long to complete a full test and (2) they often do not have enough time to answer all the questions.  These changes will tackle these concerns, making the ACT much more competitive with the SAT. 

Here is what we know for sure about the new ACT:

  • The ACT will be about an hour shorter (2 hours of testing instead of 3) thanks to making the sections shorter and making the Science section optional.
  • Composite scores (still given from 1-36 points) will be an average of just the English, Math, and Reading sections.
  • Students will have more time per question.
  • The ACT will continue to offer both paper and digital versions of the test.
  • According to ACT, the changes “will roll out starting with National online testing in spring 2025 and then for school-day testing in spring 2026.”

What do we need to find out about the new ACT?

  • What is the precise design of the updated ACT test?  If it is consistent with the format of the test used in a research study in June of this year, it will likely have these parameters:
    • English:  35 minutes, 50 questions, 5 or 10 questions on each passage
    • Math:  50 minutes, 45 questions
    • Reading:  40 minutes, 36 questions, 9 questions on each passage
    • Optional Science:  45 minutes, 36 questions
  • What sort of ACT practice materials will be provided?  When the SAT changed its format, it made four brand new SAT practice tests available to students prior to the first administered test.  Since the ACT does not routinely make significant updates to its structure, it is unclear how much material they will make available prior to the first test. 
  • When will the switch for the national paper ACTs take place?  The announcement from ACT does not make this clear, only referring to the national online testing.  The switch to the newer format on the national paper tests won’t happen before February of 2025, but it could happen sometime during 2025 or even early 2026.  We will have to wait and see. 
  • How will colleges use ACT scores?  Our best guess is that the ACT composite score with just the English, Math, and Reading sections will be sufficient.  However, students who want to demonstrate their competency for science-related majors may be well-served by doing the ACT science. 

What should students do about the new ACT? 

  • Rising seniors in the class of 2025 do not need to do anything.  These changes will go into effect after college applications have been submitted. 
  • Rising juniors in the class of 2026 may want to try the paper ACT before it goes away; they can also try the updated ACT when it is convenient do so.  When the SAT changed to its digital format, many students took advantage of trying both the paper SAT before it went away and the newer digital SAT.  It is highly likely that colleges will accept scores from either the newer ACT or the current ACT.  When students prepare for the new ACT, they will likely be able to use existing practice materials; they can try working through them at a slightly slower pace to reflect the more generous time constraints on the new ACT. 
  • Underclassmen—classes of 2027 and later—may want to wait to begin focused preparation on the ACT until there is more information available.  If a highly motivated sophomore wants to take the longer ACT before it goes away, they might go ahead and give it a try. 

Please reach out to us with questions you may have about these major changes to the ACT and how they affect your testing plans.