The State of the ACT: What Students Need to Know
In July 2024, ACT, Inc. announced a major transition: starting in April 2025, the ACT will adopt a new test format featuring a shorter overall length and an optional science section. With the ACT largely unchanged for over 30 years, this qualifies as “big news” in the world of college admissions and standardized testing.
But the story of the new ACT doesn’t begin with its own redesign. Instead, it begins with the College Board’s rollout of the digital SAT and the pressure on both organizations—College Board, the publisher of the SAT, and ACT, Inc.—to maintain their market share in an era increasingly defined by test-optional admissions.
The new version of the SAT, rolled out in the U.S. in March 2024, includes changes that were clearly designed to appeal to today's test-takers:
What impact have these changes had on the ACT? Well, the evolution of the SAT has, for many students, made the ACT seem like a much less appealing choice by comparison:
Does this mean that students should avoid the ACT? Not so fast. The test design changes largely reflect the interests of the testing companies. A more “friendly” test experience doesn’t necessarily mean better performance for a given student. In fact, dismissing the current ACT based solely on these comparisons can overlook its unique strengths. So, let’s dive into the ACT as it stands today.
Current ACT (1989-2025)
To start, let's take a closer look at the currently available ACT—the classic test that will only be an option through July 2025—examining its structure and unique features.
ACT Format Options
This ACT is currently available in both paper and digital formats, though digital testing centers are limited. Importantly, the current digital version of the ACT is identical to the paper test in both content and structure—no adaptive format, no unique digital tools, and no difference in length or pacing.
Key Features of the Current ACT
The ACT, including breaks, lasts 3 hours and 10 minutes and consists of four sections, each with distinct pacing and content demands:
English – Tests grammar, punctuation, and "effective writing," focused on redundancy, transitions, passage organization, etc.
Math – Covers topics from algebra through early pre-calculus.
Reading – Contains four passages (one each from fiction, social science, humanities, and natural science).
Science – Unique to the ACT, the science section involves interpreting information from graphs, tables, and charts to identify trends and make inferences.
The ACT and Timing
You only have 6 minutes to work through all of this…
A key feature of the current ACT is its timing: it is a very fast-paced test. So despite the ACT's longer overall length, the time you have per question is actually much lower than on the SAT.
On average, SAT questions allow about 69 seconds each, but on the ACT, that number drops to just 49 seconds per question. This difference might seem small, but it can create a much more intense testing experience, particularly for those students who may not be able to process the significant volume of test content as quickly as their peers.
Advantages of the Current ACT
At first glance, the ACT may seem like a less appealing option compared to the SAT. It's longer, faster-paced, and much denser in content and number of questions you'll need to work through. However, the ACT's unique features can offer real advantages for certain students.
It's precisely because the ACT gives students less time per question that the test has to make some trade-offs. With less time available, the ACT's questions tend to be much more straightforward than those on the SAT, which demands deeper, more complex analysis in return for the additional time it provides to answer questions.
So, while the ACT's fast pace might seem intimidating, it also means the questions are often more straightforward or direct.
Reading and English: A Different Kind of Challenge
Although the ACT allows less time per question in its Reading and English sections, it requires less complex analysis. The test focuses on factual accuracy and clarity, with questions designed to ensure students understand the basic facts and main ideas, rather than requiring deep interpretation.
By contrast, the SAT’s reading and writing section demands greater mastery of language and comprehension. Students must navigate challenging poetry, historical texts, and technical scientific excerpts, frequently switching between them. This section often requires grappling with complex ideas, subtle themes, and nuanced language.
Math: Broader but More Familiar
In its math section, the ACT covers a broader range of content than does the SAT, including unique topics like matrices, vectors, and the law of sines, which don't appear on the SAT.
However, the solving process for math problems on the ACT tends to more closely resemble methods learned in school, making it a more familiar experience for many students. The SAT's math section often rewards strategic or creative problem-solving, and includes "trap" answers designed to ensnare students who rely too mindlessly on solving methods learned in school.
It's also worth noting that math makes up a smaller portion of your ACT score than it does your SAT score. Strong performances in English, Reading, and Science can still yield a highly competitive ACT composite score, making a weak math performance less impactful on your overall score.
The Bottom Line
While the current ACT may seem less attractive on the surface, its straightforward structure and emphasis on accuracy can make it a superior choice for students who are comfortable working quickly.
What's more, this test has been around in nearly identical form for decades. As a result, there exists a ton of high-quality content to use for prep. By contrast, there currently exist only six official practice tests for the digital SAT.
This reliable, predictable format will continue to be available through next July, making it a valuable choice for students who prefer clear, direct questions and a steady test structure.
A New ACT (2025-)
While there's a lot to appreciate about the current ACT, much of the attention right now is on the new ACT. With significant updates on the way, let's take a look at how the ACT landscape will shift in the near future and what these changes might mean for students.
Key Changes to the New ACT
Optional Science Section
The science section, which has long intimidated students, will become optional. As a result, the main composite score (or "core test" score) will now only include English, Math, and Reading. Students who choose to take the Science section will receive a separate STEM score, which averages their Math and Science results. It's still unclear how colleges will weigh this optional STEM score, but it may hold particular relevance for students applying to STEM programs.
Shorter Test Length
The new ACT will be significantly shorter. Including the optional Science section, the test will last 2 hours and 40 minutes; without it, the test time is reduced to just 2 hours and 5 minutes. In addition to shortening the overall length, the ACT is reducing the number of questions in the English, Math, and Reading sections by a total of 44 questions.
Relieved Time Pressure
Perhaps one of the most appealing test changes is the reduction in time pressure. Each section will now have slightly fewer questions, and students will have more time per question, particularly in Reading, where time per question will increase by nearly 15 seconds.
Our Concerns
So far, the changes to the new ACT sound appealing—a shorter, less pressured test with an optional Science section. But, while these updates may sound promising, things get a bit more complicated when we consider the logistics and the broader implications of this new rollout.
Limited Availability and Rollout Timeline
The ACT's new test is set to be available in April 2025. However, this initial release will only be available for students opting to take the digital version of the test. The paper ACT will remain in the current format through July. Then, starting in September, both paper and digital tests will reflect the new changes, but only on national testing days. School-day testing won't fully transition to the new format until 2026.
This limited digital rollout will impact test availability, but so will the way the ACT is planning on providing access to the digital test option.
Unlike the SAT, which allows students to use their own laptops to test, the ACT is requiring test centers to provide all devices themselves. This logistical challenge could make it difficult for many test centers to offer the digital test, and availability may suffer as a result.
For instance, a November 2024 search for digital ACT test centers within 100 miles of a local zip code in Pennsylvania showed only a handful of options for December 2024 and February 2025.
Concerns about the New Test Design and Scoring
Beyond logistical hurdles, the new test design raises additional concerns. Most of the announced test changes seem aimed at making the test more appealing to testers through changes that seem likely to make the test easier. While the ACT says content difficulty will stay the same, fewer questions and less time pressure threaten to inflate scores, which would need to be compensated for with harsher scoring.
A related concern is the reduced question count across sections. The new Reading section, for example, will feature 36 questions and produce a score out of 36. Included in those 36 questions will be "field test questions"—unscored items used to pilot questions for future tests. From what we gather so far, this may mean that only 27 of the 36 Reading questions will actually count towards that score.
This design change could significantly increase score variability. One additional error on a test section, caused by a careless mistake, could drop a score by two or more points. Combined with the challenge of controlling score inflation caused by more time per question, we could see significant fluctuations in scores across test administrations.
College Acceptance and New Test Format
A final but essential consideration is how colleges will respond to these changes. While it's unlikely that colleges will reject the new ACT format outright, we simply don't know for sure how they'll weigh it in admissions. And there are plenty of reasons to think that colleges might have concerns. For instance, do they feel the test is still as predictive of college readiness without the Science section? And do results on a shorter but non-adaptive test appear as reliable as on the old ACT—or the adaptive digital SAT?
These questions are crucial, because if colleges don't view the new ACT as reliable or predictive, then strong scores on it may carry less weight in the admissions process. If colleges don't fully trust the test, it won't matter how well students score; admissions committees simply won't take it as seriously. So while the changes are exciting, the best approach at this point is a cautious, wait-and-see attitude.
Conclusion
The state of the ACT right now is, frankly, a bit of a paradox. On one hand, the current ACT is a reliable, predictable test—underrated in many ways. For a lot of students, it’s a solid, straightforward option that often gives them the best chance to hit their score potential compared to the SAT.
On the other hand, the new ACT comes with its fair share of unknowns. Its shorter format and optional science section might seem appealing, but the rollout has raised questions. It’s a bold departure from a test that’s remained largely unchanged for decades, and whether it will deliver on its promise—or feel half-baked—remains to be seen.