ACT
October 08, 2019
Next school year, ACT will introduce individual section retesting, online
testing on national test dates, and superscore calculations
Beginning with the September 2020 national ACT test date, students who have taken the ACT will have the
option to retake individual sections of the ACT test instead of the entire
exam.
Students will also have the choice of taking the ACT
online, with faster test results, on national test dates, and those who take
the test more than once will be provided an ACT “superscore” that calculates
their highest possible ACT composite score.
New Options Address Student Needs
The three new options are based on feedback from
students, parents, teachers, counselors, administrators and higher education
officials and supported by the organization’s latest research and technology
enhancements.
ACT Section Retesting: For the first time in the 60-year history of the ACT
test, students who have already taken the test will be allowed to retake
individual ACT section tests (English, math, reading, science and/or writing),
rather than having to take the entire ACT test again.
Online testing with faster score results: Students will, for the first time,
have the option of online or paper testing on national test days at ACT test
centers (selected test centers initially, eventually expanding to all). The
test is currently administered only on paper on national test dates. Online
testing offers faster results compared to traditional paper-based
administration—two days compared to around two weeks.
ACT superscoring: ACT will report a superscore for students who have taken the
ACT test more than once, giving colleges the option to use the student’s best
scores from all test administrations, rather than scores from just one sitting,
in their admission and scholarship decisions. New ACT research suggests that
superscoring is actually more predictive of how students will perform in their
college courses than other scoring methods.
The content and format of the ACT test itself will not change. Only the
administration and reporting methods will be different.
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