As of April of 2025, the ACT will have two major changes:
1. The duration of the test will be shortened from 3 hours to 2 hours.
2. The Science section will become optional.
One of the biggest challenges of the current ACT is time pressure, especially for the Reading and Science Reasoning sections. After the change, much of this time pressure will be gone. The new test will have 44 fewer questions in total, and each section will be significantly shorter.
As well, students will have the ability to choose whether to take the Science section. The English (grammar), Reading, and Math sections “remain as the core sections of the ACT test that will result in a college-reportable score”.
This means students can choose to take:
– the ACT,
– the ACT plus Science,
– the ACT plus Writing, or
– the ACT plus Science and Writing.
The Composite score will be the average of the English, Reading, and Math scores. It will not include the optional Science section. The Composite and section scores will continue to be reported on the same 1-36 scale.
What this might mean for you…
If you are not confident in science: You won’t have to tackle the Science section, as it will be optional.
If you are a slower reader: You will still have to make an effort to read faster, but it will be less difficult to complete the ACT than it is now.
If you are good at science: Your advantage will not be reflected on your ACT composite score, as the Science section is now optional.
If you are a fast reader: You will have more time to check over your work. Your advantage in reading speed will not be as impactful.
If you don’t like the SAT: The ACT will be more comparable with the digital SAT. You may consider the ACT for its more straightforward questions.
I’m already prepping for the SAT, should I switch to the ACT instead?
In 2016, the SAT became more like the ACT. College Board had even hired the chief test writer for the ACT. Now, the ACT is becoming more like the digital SAT (shorter questions and more time for questions). Making the science section optional is another step, as the digital SAT has no separate science section. (It does have informational graphics on Reading and Writing, which is supposed to measure some abilities required for science.)
What this means is that nearly everything a student learns for the SAT will apply to the new ACT. If a student is currently receiving SAT tutoring, they could make a switch at some point from the SAT to the ACT.
But this switch should not be done anytime soon, as ACT Inc. has not yet released the detailed test specifications. ACT hasn’t even released sample passages and questions for the new test. What ACT announced is very general. Once ACT releases some official practice tests, students may take a practice test and make a decision on whether to switch.
But, just to reiterate, for any student currently doing SAT prep, that preparation will help them on the ACT, too, as there is so much overlap.
Talk to your school counsellor or educational consultant, or take the MindPrint Assessment to determine which test—the SAT or the ACT—is better for you.
