Last week, leadership at the ACT announced sweeping changes to the test structure, signaling yet another change in the standardized testing landscape for students to adapt to. The ACT revamp comes less than a year after its counterpart, the College Board, implemented its own significant changes to the SAT, the most notable of which being a move from a pen-and-paper test to a digital exam. While the ACT will not move exclusively online (students will still be able to choose between taking the test digitally or on paper), the changes follow those made to the SAT in shortening the overall length of the exam, which may alleviate some stress for students. The evolution of the test is likely spurred in part by the challenges students have faced in the years leading up to and following the Covid-19 pandemic—as of the Class of 2023, the ACT has seen six consecutive years of decline in average scores, a trend that has become even more concerning as top colleges reinstate their testing requirements.
What are the changes to the ACT?
With phased implementation set to start in the spring of 2025, the seismic changes to the ACT will impact a huge swath of college-bound students—approximately 1.4 million students from the class of 2023 took the test. Here’s what students and families looking forward to the college admissions process need to know about impending changes to the ACT:
The ACT has historically comprised four sections evaluating English, math, reading, and science, with each section—scored on a scale of 1-36—contributing to the overall composite score. With the new changes, English, math, and reading will remain required and form the composite score, and students will be able to choose to add the science section, writing section, or both. The updated test will continue to be ranked on a scale of 1 to 36.
Like the SAT, the ACT has been significantly shortened. While the current test spans three hours, the changes will cut the duration of the test by up to one-third, with the new test clocking in at two hours (depending on the version that students take, it could be slightly longer).
In order to achieve this shortened exam, the new ACT will feature shorter English and Reading sections, pose 44 fewer questions and feature shorter reading passages, allowing students more time to answer questions. According to Janet Goodwin, ACT CEO: “This change is designed to make the testing experience more manageable for students, enabling them to perform at their best without the fatigue that often accompanies longer exams.”
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In light of these changes, many students and families are left wondering how the new ACT test will compare to its competitor, the SAT, and whether the changes should impact their decision regarding which test to take. First and foremost, it is important to note that strategic decisions will depend in large part on the way that colleges respond to the new ACT, which will require an adjustment period as admissions offices seek to parse what the new scores mean. Testing trends in the 2025-26 admissions cycle will likely shape the way that colleges regard the test and its rigor.
At the same time, ACT scores are known to be easier to improve than SAT scores, and the ACT poses less complex questions, despite its historically longer duration. With forthcoming edits to its length and contents, this contrast will likely be more noticeable—students can anticipate that it will be easier to score higher and improve one’s score over time on the new ACT. Of course, the lessened difficulty of the test could have broader implications for the testing landscape: it remains to be seen whether colleges will continue to value both tests equally. Alternatively, the SAT may respond with additional changes to its own length and contents, as each organization vies for more students to sit for their exam.
Ultimately, these changes in standardized testing underscore the transitional nature of this moment in the world of college admissions. Students and families should note that their testing strategy and preparation will likely need to evolve over time as testing formats and institutional testing requirements continue to shift in the coming years.