The enhanced ACT

The ACT was cut down in 2025. English lost a third of its questions, Math lost a quarter and its fifth answer choice, Reading lost four questions, and Science became an optional add-on. Guides written for the legacy test describe an exam that no longer exists.

Structure

Within a section you may move freely between questions and return to them. A short break separates the sections, and its length varies by administration. Every question has four choices. The real test also slips unscored field-test questions into each section, which is why published counts of scored questions are lower than the totals above. Format in detail.

Scoring, and the absence of a penalty

A correct answer earns a point. A wrong answer costs nothing, so there is never a reason to leave a question blank.

Your Composite is the average of English, Math and Reading, each on a scale of 1 to 36, rounded to the nearest whole number.The Composite no longer includes Science.

Raw scores become scale scores through a table that is different for every form of the test, which is why the same number of correct answers can give slightly different scores on different test days. Scoring in full.

What you are allowed to use

A calculator is permitted on Math only, and only a model on ACT's permitted list. English and Reading are done without one. No formula sheet is provided, so the formulas for areas, volumes and the common triangle relationships have to be in your head.

Who takes the ACT

Most candidates are applying to universities in the United States, where the ACT and the SAT are treated as equivalent by the institutions that ask for either. A growing number of universities are test-optional, but many still weigh scores, and a strong score can matter for merit scholarships even where it is not required.