ACT Science Section

ACT Science Test Outline

The ACT Science test contains 40 questions and allots 40 minutes to answer them. Under the redesigned ACT, Science is optional: it is an add-on that no longer feeds into the Composite, which is now the average of English, Math, and Reading alone. Students who choose Science receive a separate score from 1 to 36 and, combined with Math, a STEM score. The section is built around six or seven passages, each followed by several questions, and reports three categories: Interpretation of Data; Scientific Investigation; and Evaluation of Models, Inferences, and Experimental Results. When taken, Science comes after the three required sections; anyone who also adds the optional Writing test completes Science before writing the essay. Calculators are not allowed on the Science test, but ACT says none of the questions require one.

ACT Science Test Passages

Science passages span disciplines from about grade 7 through the introductory college level. They reach across biology (botany, ecology, zoology), chemistry (nuclear, organic, and biochemistry), the earth and space sciences (astronomy, geology, oceanography), and physics (mechanics and thermodynamics, among others). Most pair text with visual information—graphs, charts, and tables—and they appear in three formats: data representation, which asks you to read graphic information; research summaries, which center on interpreting experimental results; and conflicting viewpoints, which sets competing hypotheses against one another.

ACT Science Test Question Types

Science questions are multiple choice with four answer options. Some background in the sciences helps, but no deep expertise in any single field is needed to answer correctly—the emphasis falls on reasoning, which is why the section once carried the name "Science Reasoning." The reporting categories break down roughly as follows: Interpretation of Data (about 18-22 questions), Scientific Investigation (8-12), and Evaluation of Models, Inferences, and Experimental Results (10-14).

ACT Science Test Skills

ACT frames the Science test as a gauge of how well students read and interpret scientific information, weigh and evaluate it, and reason their way through problems in the natural sciences. Interpretation of Data leans on finding and analyzing information, reading graphs and tables, comparing data, working out mathematical relationships, and pulling together information from several sources. Scientific Investigation rests on understanding experimental design and methods, spotting how experiments are alike and different, and forming hypotheses. Evaluation of Models, Inferences, and Experimental Results asks students to identify the implications, assumptions, features, and predictions of models and to judge whether findings support or undermine a hypothesis.

ACT Science Test Scoring and Benchmark Data

On the 1-to-36 scale, a typical Science score lands near the middle of the range, and only a small share of test-takers reach the highest scores. The College Readiness Benchmark for Science is 23, higher than for any other multiple-choice section, so a smaller share of students clears it than any other benchmark. Historically, only a minority of ACT-tested students met the benchmarks in every section at once—and because Science is now optional and no longer part of the Composite, fewer students sit it at all. Roughly 1.4 million students in a recent U.S. graduating class took the ACT, though exact averages, percentiles, and benchmark-attainment rates shift year to year, so check ACT's current national data for the latest figures.

The ACT Science Test and College Acceptance

Most universities report only their students' Composite, English, and Math scores, which makes the influence of the Science score hard to isolate—and because Science is now optional and sits outside the Composite, many applicants will not submit one at all. Students headed for science, engineering, or other STEM-heavy programs can still strengthen their case with a solid Science score and the STEM figure it helps produce. As always, applicants should aim for the best results they can on every section they choose to take.