ACT Score Confidentiality

ACT Policies on Score Confidentiality

Registration for any ACT assessment requires agreement to the organization's privacy policy, which is viewable on the ACT website. Two types of data are collected by ACT: personally identifying information and non-personally identifying information. Examples of the former type include name, address, date of birth, and citizenship, some of which test-takers are required to submit and some of which are optional. Non-personally identifying information is typically either associated with tracking website traffic (such as IP address) or statistical data that cannot be linked to specific individuals. ACT test scores can fall into either category, but students have significant control over score reports that have their names attached. Under that policy, ACT commits to not selling or disclosing personally identifying information except in keeping with the choices the test-taker has made. In practice, that means ACT will release identifiable scores only to the people and organizations a student has authorized: colleges, prospective employers, scholarship agencies, or other designated recipients. For some administrations, ACT keeps scores permanently and will not delete them on request. Students should also assume their results may be used, stripped of any identifying details, for research and statistical analysis.

Relevant Federal and State Laws on Privacy for Education Records

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects education records from unauthorized disclosure by schools and other educational organizations. Scores for standardized tests (such as the ACT) are considered education records under the law. There are some limited circumstances under which education records may be involuntarily disclosed, but FERPA gives students and parents a high level of control over the distribution of these records (for students aged 18 and over, even their parents cannot access education records without permission). College testing organizations such as ACT are generally not regulated by state or federal authorities, but New York and California have enacted laws that prevent any testing outfit from disclosing scores without first obtaining the consent of the test-taker.

Sending and Receiving ACT Scores

During registration, students choose where their scores should go, and they can add recipients before or after the test. At registration, reports for the student, the student's high school, and up to four colleges are included, provided the student enters those college codes. Any report beyond the ones included is an "Additional Score Report," which costs an added fee; standard and rush delivery are priced differently, so check act.org for the current amounts. Students cannot send scores to a particular person at a college—reports go only to the office ACT designates to receive them. Some testing programs automatically forward every attempt, but ACT sends only the test date the student selects, or an automatically calculated Superscore if the student chooses to send that instead. Institutions can receive scores electronically through ACT's secure reporting system, and a school must first agree in writing to keep the data secure and confidential.

ACT Supplier Code of Conduct and Score Confidentiality

Outside organizations that do business with ACT sometimes gain access to private student information, and there is an ACT confidentiality policy in place for these entities. The ACT Supplier Code of Conduct applies to ACT contractors, subcontractors, vendors, distributors, partners, agents, and consultants, all of whom must keep ACT's confidential information secure and follow ACT's policies and the applicable laws governing how such information is collected, protected, used, transferred, and disclosed. An entity that fails to comply can have its business relationship with ACT terminated.

ACT Score Confidentiality Policies and Testing under Special Circumstances

ACT score and other student information confidentiality policies are in force regardless of whether or not a student tests under normal circumstances (e.g. national test dates). The same privacy rules, regulations, and laws are applicable if a student sits for the ACT under arranged testing (typically for those who have religious objections to taking the ACT on a Saturday) or accommodated testing (for students with disabilities that affect their ability to take the ACT under regular conditions).