Changes are coming for the ACT starting in April 2025!
In March 2024 we saw the launch of the new Digital SAT with its shorter timeframe, digital interface with built-in DESMOS calculator, and adaptive platform. Now in 2025 the ACT is joining in the fun with a rolling set of updates to the test beginning in April and continuing through September 2025.
I just had the opportunity to interview a representative from the ACT to clarify my own questions about the rollout now that the April test is approaching. Read here for all the latest information on when the ACT is making those changes and what they will mean for students.
What changes is the ACT making to the test?
The ACT company is making changes to the test– what ACT is calling the “enhanced” test– that include the option to take the test on a computer and both shortening and adapting some content on each of the individual subject sections. A noted change coming to the enhanced test is that the Science portion will be optional. The enhanced test will only be available in the computer version for the April, June, and July test dates. Starting in September, the enhanced version will be offered for both computer and paper tests.
Changes to timing on the enhanced ACT
Math
The Math test will go from 60 questions in 60 minutes to 45 questions in 50 minutes. There will be only four answer options rather than five on the enhanced test.
Science
The Science test will be optional on the enhanced test. Students who choose to take it will have marginally more time: the test taker will answer 40 questions in 40 minutes (rather than 40 questions in 35 minutes).
English
The English test will be reduced from 75 questions in 45 minutes to 50 questions in 35 minutes, making it markedly shorter than the standard version and with more time per question.
Reading
The Reading test will be reduced by four questions and will add five minutes to the test, so students will now have 40 minutes to answer 36 questions rather than 35 minutes for 40 questions.
The enhanced test length and timing will now be this:
Aside from making Science optional, will the enhanced ACT be making any changes to the types of questions on the test?
The ACT gave a presentation that listed potential content changes to individual test sections on the enhanced test. My contact assured me that any content changes would be relatively minor and that the currently available full-length paper practice tests remain the best preparation available for both the computer enhanced test and standard test.
When will the ACT begin offering the enhanced test?
The ACT is offering registration for the enhanced test now for the April national test date. Students can either register for the enhanced test (shorter and with Science optional) on the computer or the standard test with all four sections on paper. The enhanced (Science optional and shortened passages) version will not be available on paper until September 2025.
Will the enhanced ACT have the same scoring scale?
Yes, the ACT will still be scored on a total of 36 points per section and 36 averaged points for the composite score. Any student taking the enhanced test (with or without Science) will receive a composite score with Reading, Math, and English and a separate score for Science, if taken.
Is the computer ACT adaptive the way the SAT digital test is?
The computer version of the ACT, which will first be available in April, is not adaptive. That is, the level of difficulty of the test does not change based on a student‘s responses the way that the difficulty level of the SAT does.
If I take the computer ACT, will I be given scratch paper for the math and science sections?
My ACT contact confirms that, yes, students will have access to paper. As always, students will have access to a calculator for the math test for both the paper and computer math tests.
Will I still be able to take the test on paper after April?
The ACT will offer the enhanced test beginning in April only for those who register for the computer test. Students will still be able to take the standard test on paper in April and in the future. Beginning in September 2025, the enhanced test will be offered both for computer and paper test takers.
Will the ACT be offering individual test section retakes?
I asked! The ACT started talking about offering individual test section retakes (and digital testing) back in 2019, and many students (and myself as well) got excited about the chance to take just a section or sections on a given retake day. Then the pandemic intervened, and the ACT dropped those anticipated changes. With the 2025 updates, I asked if the ACT would be offering individual section retakes, but my contact said there was no plan in the works for that. Too bad, so sad.
When will the ACT provide more materials to practice for the computer test?
As of the first week of February, the ACT has only provided one sample enhanced practice test and one set of sample questions per section. My contact told me that the ACT was mindful of the need for more materials and that additional practice questions would be available in the coming months.
Can I still get my ACT questions/answers back through what was once the TIR?
The ACT offers the TIR– returning the student’s score sheet and testing booklet– three times each year (similar to what used to be offered with the SAT’s QAS). ACT is now calling the TIR “My Answer Key,”( MAK), and the last date this school year for a student to order MAK is for the February 2025 national test date. Traditionally this has been sent 6-8 weeks after the test date, though it can arrive sooner. That’s a slow time frame that often frustrates students and tutors, as it can be too late to help with preparing for the next test. I asked my contact if the ACT had any plans to offer MAK more often each year and with a faster turnaround time, but he had no updates to report.
Will colleges accept an ACT score without a Science section?
I can’t speak for colleges, and many colleges have not yet spoken for themselves. Compass Prep has been gathering data on this and keeps an updated chart here.
How do I know whether to take the enhanced computer or standard version of the ACT?
Right now the main reasons to take the enhanced test would be to avoid the Science section, to take an overall shorter test, and to gain a little more time per question. On the other hand, many of our students choose the ACT over the SAT specifically because they prefer to test on paper, so taking a shorter computer enhanced test has to be weighed against the comfort of the known quantity taken on paper. Many of my students are choosing to stick with the paper test until ACT finishes rolling out these changes in September 2025.
How can I stay up to date on these changes to the ACT?
I will always keep you up to date on everything I know. If you have an ACT test-taker in your home, you may want to subscribe to ACT for updates on the rollout of the enhanced test: ACT Test Enhancements