ACT Administration Procedures and Policies

School District and Statewide Administrations of the ACT

For many high school students in the United States, ACT test dates are arranged by their school district or state education agencies. These students take the ACT at their high schools on a regularly scheduled school day, and the registration process is handled by school officials. In these cases, students simply show up for school at the normal time, and testing will begin immediately (photo identification is usually unnecessary, because test proctors will be the students' normal teachers). Students testing under these circumstances must make sure that they arrive at school on time on the day of the test. Once the test booklets have been handed out, admission will be refused to all late-arriving test-takers.

Taking the ACT on National or International Test Dates

Students who attend high schools that don't hold their own test administrations must register for one of the national or international test dates. In the U.S., its territories, and Puerto Rico, ACT offers seven national test dates each year, spread across September, October, December, February, April, June, and July. International testing is handled separately, on fewer dates and increasingly online, so students testing abroad should check act.org for what is available in their country. Most students register online through a MyACT account, but standard mail registration is also available, and certain test-takers must register by mail (such as children under 13). Those who need a mail packet can request one using the appropriate form on the ACT website. ACT's photo and identification policies apply to everyone testing on a national or international date.

ACT Photo and Identification Policies for Registration and Testing

To complete the registration process, students must either upload or send a recent photograph, which should have a full-face view in portrait format (scans of driver's licenses or other identification documents are generally not permitted due to poor image quality). The submitted photo will be included on the test-taker's admission ticket, which must be presented along with an acceptable form of photo identification for admission to the test center. Acceptable photo identification documents must be current and issued either by governments or schools (e.g. driver's license or school ID). Students who lack these documents may request an ACT Student Identification, which is obtained by having a school official or notary public fill out the appropriate form. Examples of identification and photographs that will not be accepted by ACT include birth certificates, employer IDs, Social Security cards, credit cards, pictures that show additional individuals, and published photographs.

ACT Administration Policies

There is no limit on how many times a student may take the ACT, and test-takers are free to retest as often as they wish; ACT has retired both its former 12-attempt cap and the 60-day waiting period that once separated administrations. A student generally cannot test more than once on a single scheduled date, and if more than one administration is somehow recorded for the same date, only the first set of scores is reported. ACT keeps score records permanently, and scores do not expire. Students who miss their scheduled test date for any reason must register for a new date and pay the applicable fees, although they may be eligible for refunds of certain optional services already purchased. While taking the test, students may not use electronic devices (other than an approved calculator), books, or their own scratch paper, and they may not communicate with other test-takers in any way. Violations of testing policies are punished by cancellation of scores and forfeiture of registration fees.

ACT Score Reporting Procedures

How long it takes to receive ACT scores depends on when the test was taken and which scores are involved. Multiple-choice scores are typically posted for online viewing within two to eight weeks of the test date, and most students see them within about a month; the exact reporting window for each date is listed on the ACT website. Multiple-choice section scores are released first, with Writing scores usually appearing roughly two weeks later. Students who tested on the online version often receive their scores a little sooner. ACT posts scores to the student's MyACT account rather than releasing them by email, phone, or fax. Colleges that a student designates at registration receive their reports on a comparable schedule, although ACT has no control over how quickly each institution processes them internally.

ACT Administration for Disabled Students and English Language Learners

ACT offers certain types of accommodations for test-takers with disabilities and for students in need of English language support. The need for these accommodations should be indicated during the normal online registration process, which will automatically generate an email with further instructions. The request process is completed by school officials, to whom this email should be forwarded. Some accommodations (such as wheelchair accessibility or large-print text) can be provided during the national or international testing dates, while others (such as multi-day testing or use of electronic media) require a special administration of the exam. Special administrations take place during an approximately three-week window following a regularly scheduled test date.