ACT Basics – All about the ACT

What is the ACT?

The ACT is a standardized test administered primarily to high school students in the United States, typically in their junior and/or senior years. Some students take it on their own for college admission, while others sit for it as part of a statewide testing program. First offered in 1959, the modern ACT is the product of many revisions—most recently the 2025 redesign. Today the exam has three required sections—English, Math, and Reading—plus two optional add-ons, Science and Writing. English, Math, Reading, and Science are entirely multiple-choice; Writing asks for a single essay.

The three required sections take about two hours of testing—35 minutes for English, 50 for Math, and 40 for Reading—with a short break before Reading. Choosing Science adds 40 minutes, and Writing adds another 40. Each multiple-choice section is scored from 1 to 36 in one-point steps, and the Composite is simply the average of English, Math, and Reading, rounded to the nearest whole number. Science and Writing sit outside that calculation: Science is reported on the 1–36 scale, and Writing is scored from 2 to 12 by two ACT readers. Within every section ACT also reports category scores and national and state percentile ranks.

ACT Availability

The ACT is administered at test centers around the world. In the United States, U.S. territories, and Puerto Rico, there are seven national test dates a year—one each in September, October, December, February, April, June, and July. International testing runs on its own, more limited schedule and is increasingly delivered online, so students outside the U.S. should check act.org for the dates and formats available in their country. Testing is normally held on Saturdays; students with religious restrictions can arrange a Sunday sitting.

The ACT and College Admission

Nearly all U.S. four-year colleges that require or consider admission tests accept the ACT—always check each school's current policy—and it is open to any applicant seeking an American undergraduate degree, including students who finished secondary school abroad. Admissions offices lean on tests like the ACT because they cannot know the rigor of every high school, at home or overseas; a common yardstick is meant to give applicants a level footing, though how objective that yardstick really is remains a live debate. Many colleges have gone test-optional and no longer demand a score, but most will still weigh one if you send it. Requirements abroad vary too—some Canadian universities, for example, ask American applicants for ACT or SAT scores while others do not. What counts as a competitive score depends on how selective the school is. ACT sets a College Readiness Benchmark for each subject—18 in English, 22 in Math, 22 in Reading, and 23 in Science—each marking roughly a 50% chance of earning a B or higher in the matching first-year course. Selective universities typically report averages well above those marks.

The ACT and College Grades

ACT defends the exam's validity and has published research to that effect for decades. Independent researchers—those with no tie to the organization—have reached more mixed conclusions over the years. One older analysis, published in 2011 by Stanford's Graduate School of Education, found the sections predicted college performance unevenly: English and Math tracked closely with later grades, while Reading and, in the four-section era, Science added little predictive power. An even earlier 1994 study of Chicago State University students found that higher ACT bands generally lined up with higher GPAs, yet noted the incoming class with the strongest scores went on to earn the weakest grades. These are individual, dated studies rather than the last word, but the sensible takeaway holds: a score is a useful signal, not a verdict.

Preparing for the ACT

Students have a number of options for ACT study and preparation, from group ACT classes and individual tutoring to books, videos, and online resources. Formal ACT instruction in any of the available formats (on-site or online) is likely to produce the best results. Experienced ACT teachers implement coherent learning plans, adjust study programs as necessary, and improve student abilities and confidence through encouragement and feedback. The cost of these courses may discourage some students, but the results are difficult to dispute.