ACT, Inc. is dramatically reforming and enhancing the ACT® test with options that keep students’ interests in mind. Beginning with the September 2020 national ACT test date, ACT test takers will have more options when taking the ACT:
- ACT Section Retest—Students who have already completed a full ACT test can choose to retake one or more sections (English, math, reading, science, or writing) without having to retake the entire test.
- Superscore reporting—To support the growing trend of students taking the ACT test multiple times, score reports will now include a calculated ACT Superscore, along with an ACT Composite score.
- Faster results with online testing—Students will be able to choose to take the ACT online at a test center on national ACT test dates and get their multiple-choice test results as early as two business days after taking the test
These new options, according to ACT, Inc., will offer students, “more choices, a better experience, and greater confidence that their ACT test scores best reflect their hard work, overall academic achievement, and potential for success throughout their lives.” I tend to agree. Students being able to choose to retake only the sections in which they want to improve their scores (after initially taking the full ACT test) is a wonderful, student-centered approach. ACT, Inc. should be applauded for this reform.
Faster score reports means that students will be able to make decisive plans for college sooner, and superscoring will help students demonstrate to colleges and universities their best achievement in each subject. The ACT is already the preferred choice for many test-takers, despite College Board efforts in recent years to win test-takers back with yet another re-centering of scores. The newly announced changes by ACT will make ACT even more popular starting in September 2020. At a time when more colleges are going test-optional, it’s not surprising that the testing agencies – ACT, Inc. and College Board – will feel ongoing pressure to make their tests student-friendly.
Learn more about the changes here.
