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As promised, here’s what I know about the ACT Enhancements for 2025 (and my commentary) after my meeting with the ACT organization on Monday, July 22nd.
First, ACT discussed their reasons for the enhancements, which were student-centered.
The Five Reasons for the ACT 2025 Enhancements
to expand nationally and provide more accessibility for students (we need this!)
to make sure the test reflects the best practices of the industry (fantastic!)
to provide more time per question and reduce total testing time based on student feedback (love that they're taking this into consideration!)
to respond to student and higher education feedback on the science section (this is great - see below)
to provide a format choice (paper and pencil vs. digital) for students (this, in my opinion, is what will shift the demand from the SAT to the ACT)
Why Having a Science Optional Section Is Good
When explaining why the Science section is now optional, ACT highlighted the following important nuances between students applying to college:
Some students want to highlight their science skills (even though it’s really just another reading comprehension/logical reasoning section), so this optional section will be a great opportunity show off those skills. ACT has promised to add an engineering-focused passage to make this section even more applicable to colleges.
Some students won’t be pursuing science in their future college career, and isn’t the purpose of the SAT or ACT to demonstrate college readiness? If a student won’t be taking science courses in college, they shouldn’t have to prove those skills. ACT understands this.
For some students, the Science section creates anxiety and is the only reason why they don’t choose to take the test. ACT is removing this barrier and giving these students the chance to test without worrying about this anxiety-ridden section.
Proposed Future State of the Test
Core Composite Test
English: 50 items in 35 mins
Reading: 36 items in 40 mins
Math: 45 items in 50 mins
Total: 125 mins
+ Science: 165 mins
the science section is proposed to be 40 items in 40 mins.
New Estimated Time Per Item
Subject | Current (seconds/items) | Enhanced (seconds/items) | Est. Increase in seconds/items |
English | 36 | 42 | 6 (17%) |
Math | 60 | 67 | 7 (11%) |
Reading | 53 | 67 | 11` (27%) |
Science | 53 | 60 | 7.5 (15%) |
Though a 6 second increase might seem insignificant, based on my experience with my students, this has the potential to be extremely impactful.
Key Enhancements for the Core Test
Please note these are still only proposed enhancements and will be finalized after summer research and testing concludes.
Key Enhancements for the English Section
Adding Stems.
This is mainly for the digital version of the test. Stems are instructions and will be added to each question to provide accessibility and reduce scrolling.
Adding an argumentative essay.
In the past, all of the English passages have been informative. Adding an argumentative essay would be a big change.
Key Enhancements for the Math Section
Reducing the number of answer choices to 4!
Wow, this is a huge change from 5 answer choices from past tests!
Reducing High Grade Level Items.
Bye, Law of Sines and Law of Cosines (I'm assuming...)
Reducing word problem setup.
Some students get lost in the paragraph setup of a question. The ACT is aiming to shorten word problems so that students can get to the meat of the question quicker.
Key Enhancements for the Reading Section
Reducing the length of reading passages.
I wonder how much shorter they'll go - as short as College Board's Digital SAT passages that are only 1 paragraph long?
Diversifying Literary Narratives.
I can't wait to see what new perspectives they choose to highlight!
New Scoring System
The scale will remain 1-36 for all sections and Composite scores.
April, June and July 2025 online National (Saturday) tests will have Composites calculated from English, math, and reading only.
Starting September 2025, all Composite calculations for all test modalities, National, State & District, and International will be calculated from English, math, and reading only.
Similar to current writing scores, individual science and STEM scores will continue to be reported for students who choose to take the science section, but will not included in Composite score calculations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Finally, our meeting ended with answers to our questions.
When will practice materials be released?
They're working on it and we don't have a timeline for those yet.
If students take the Science section and do well, will it increase their Composite score?
No, because the Science/STEM sections are scored separately.
Will it be less expensive to take the Core test without Science?
Yes.
What do colleges think about this change?
ACT has been in touch with many colleges and has incorporated their feedback into these enhancements.
Overall, I'm excited by the ACT Enhancements for 2025! If I were in high school now, I would probably lean towards the ACT. I'm looking forward to hearing what my students think about these changes.
Contact Remy for a free strategy consultation to discuss your child's ACT needs.
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