Aim Higher: The Achieve Blog

College admissions is a long game with lots of moving parts. If you thought standardized tests were off the table, think again.

Need to Know: the Digital SAT

Coming soon:
Which test to take

Big ACT changes are right around the corner, offering more flexibility and a better test-taking experience to help you shine. I’m here to walk you through the upcoming “enhanced” ACT and online options. Here’s what you need to know.

Key ACT Takeaways:

The Online ACT will be available alongside the paper and pencil version.
The test is NOT adaptive and will make the Science section optional, starting with the “enhanced” test available in 2025.
The “enhanced ACT” will be shorter and allow more time per question.
Achieve Tutorials DOESN’T recommend taking the “enhanced” Online ACT when it is initially released.

Want to maximize your ACT score? Call 424.262.2483 to book time now with one of our expert tutors!

The ACT Still Matters:

More colleges and universities are requiring SAT or ACT scores again, but even for test-optional schools, strong scores make a measurable difference in college admissions.

Let’s dive right in to the next generation of standardized tests:

The “enhanced” ACT will be 2 hour and 5 minutes long (not including the optional Science section), much shorter than the old paper and pencil version. This is a great benefit to students, especially those who lose focus on really longs tests.

However, the “enhanced” ACT will NOT be any easier, just shorter.

ACT changes will roll out in stages, so things are likely to be chaotic for the near future. Here’s what you can expect from the ACT over the next few months:

Content: Content is likely to remain very similar to the current test.
Format Options: Choose between paper and pencil or online tests.
Pre-April 2025: The Online ACT will mirror the current paper version.
Post-April 2025: The “enhanced” Online ACT will be shorter, with more time per question, and the Science section will be optional. The essay remains optional.
Post-September 2025: The paper ACT will match the “enhanced” digital format: shorter tests with more time per question and an optional Science section.
Duration: The shorter test (without the optional 40-minute Science section) will be 2 hours and 5 minutes.
International Testing: Only the online ACT will be available internationally. No paper and pencil.
Device Use: You cannot use your own device for the online ACT; devices will be provided at the testing site.
Non-Adaptive: The online ACT is not adaptive, so all students get the same questions, though there may be multiple test versions on any given day.
Practice Tests: You can take a sample online questions now, but we don’t yet know how many practice tests will be available for the “enhanced” ACT.

Recommendations:

We recommend that you DO NOT sign up for the “enhanced” ACT before more information is available. While we believe the ACT is a superior test and is better aligned with high school learning, the numerous unknowns prevent us from endorsing it just yet. The ACT folks haven’t made changes even remotely close to the complexity of these new changes in a very long time, and we simply don’t know how well they’ll handle the transition.

Conclusion:

The “enhanced” Online ACT promises to offer more choices and a better, shorter test-taking experience. However, it will still be challenging. Plan ahead, take practice tests, and get the help you need to maximize your scores.

If you do decide to take the ACT anyway, prepare using as many recent paper and pencil tests as you can. We’re here to help!

Side Note:

Why is the ACT changing? The short answer: they lost a huge amount of market share when the SAT went digital. Additionally, the ACT was just purchased by a for-profit private equity firm. They will transition the ACT from non-profit to for-profit, creating pressure to increase revenue by creating a test that can compete with the new SAT.