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What exactly is the ACT and do I need to take it?
The ACT Assessment is a battery of
multiple-choice tests used by colleges and universities to help decide which
applicants to choose. Even though there are other types of standardized tests
available, almost all colleges accept the ACT Assessment, and many colleges
require it. The ACT Assessment is given five times each year at locations
throughout the United States, and Canada as well as overseas.
There are several parts to the ACT Assessment.
One part is a personal interest inventory. The results of this section are
useful in career planning by suggesting several occupations related to those
subjects or areas that appeal to you or that are suited to your personality.
In addition, the ACT Assessment includes a
course and grade information questionnaire and a student profile. These help
create a picture of you for college admissions boards. Each board knows from
years of experience what type of student fits in well with its programs and
other students. There are always exceptions, and many other elements go into
the acceptance process, but the questionnaire and profile provide the board a
quick "snapshot" of you.
Of course, the ACT Assessment also includes the
part that concerns you most--the test itself. This is actually a series of
tests based on a standard high school curriculum. In other words, the ACT
Assessment tests what most high school students learn every day.
ACT Assessment Contents and Format
The ACT Assessment is a 3-hour exam
broken into four sections, each of which is separately timed. With breaks and
with time spent listening to instructions and passing out and returning forms,
the actual time spent taking the exam is 4 or more hours.
The four sections test Standard English skills,
math skills, reading comprehension skills, and science reasoning skills. No one
is expected to know every answer to every section. Because the ACT Assessment
assesses the full range of students, from the less-than-average to the
brilliant, there will be questions that most students will not be able to
answer. That is taken into account in the scoring.
The Test Booklet and Answer Sheet
The format of the ACT Assessment exam should be
familiar to you from standardized tests in school. All of the questions are
printed in a booklet you will receive the day of the test. Although you may
mark up this booklet, for scoring purposes the answers must be put on the
answer sheet, which is a separate piece of paper.
Questions for all four subject tests go on this
separate answer sheet. You should be familiar with this type of answer sheet
from other standardized tests--a fill-in-the-circle grid. All questions are
multiple choice. The English, Reading, and Science Reasoning Tests have four
choices for each answer; the Math Test has five choices for each answer.
Completely fill in the circle of your choice
with your pencil. The sheets are "read" and graded by computer, so it's
important that your mark is clear and complete. Be sure to mark only one circle
per question, and do not skip lines by mistake, because one misplaced mark can
make every answer following it wrong.
Marking the Answer Sheet
To help prevent test takers from skipping
answers, the ACT Assessment answer sheet is formatted a bit differently from
what you might be used to seeing. Instead of each set of choices being A, B, C,
and D--or A, B, C, D, and E for Math--the ACT Assessment answer sheet
alternates between sets of answers. The odd-numbered questions, starting with
Question 1, use A, B, C, and D--or A, B, C, D, and E for Math--then the
even-numbered questions, starting with Question 2, use F, G, H, and J--or F, G,
H, J, and K for Math. This format is to help catch your attention if you miss a
line and begin to fill in an answer for the wrong question.
How the ACT Assessment Is Scored
For each of the four tests, the number of
correct answers is determined, giving you a raw score. The raw score for each
subject is then "scaled" or calculated in such a way as to make the varying ACT
Assessment exams given on that day equal to each other. The scaled scores range
from 1 to the highest of 36. In recent years the average score for each subject
has been 21.
In addition, within each subject you get
subscores for different areas of that subject. Subscores range from 1 to the
highest of 18. You'll also receive a composite score that's the average of all
four subject scores.
Because everyone taking the ACT Assessment is a
potential competitor for the same college seat that you want, the ACT
Assessment results also include a percentile score. The percentile score--based
on the more familiar 100 percent--measures your composite score against the
composite score of other test takers. The number indicates the percentage of
students who are below you.
CHECKLIST - What You Need to Know about the ACT
- The
ACT Assessment, a battery of multiple-choice tests used by colleges and
universities to assess applicants, is given five times each year across the
United States and Canada and overseas.
- The
ACT Assessment is a 3-hour exam of 215 questions, divided into four sections
that test skills in Standard English, math, reading comprehension, and science
reasoning. The questions are designed to cover these areas at the standard
level taught in most high schools across the country.
- For
each of the four ACT Assessment tests, your score is based on a "scaled score";
because the specific content of each ACT Assessment might be different, scaling
is necessary to standardize your results with those of everyone else who takes
the exam. Your raw score is determined by the number of correct answers on your
exam; the raw score is then scaled.
- Your
ACT Assessment score is only one of the factors considered by college
admissions offices; they also assess your high school performance, your
personal profile and circumstances, and other information you submit with your
application.
- Take
the ACT Assessment as early as you can, so you have time to retake it if
necessary. For your scores to be available for your college applications, you
should take the ACT Assessment no less than eight weeks before the earliest
college application deadline that you have.
Test and Registration Dates
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Test Dates
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Registration Deadlines
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Late Registration Deadlines (extra fee)
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June 12, 2004
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May 7, 2004
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May 21, 2004
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September 25, 2004 (Only administered in some states)
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August 20, 2004
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September 3, 2004
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October 23, 2004
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September 17, 2004
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October 1, 2004
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December 11, 2004
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November 5, 2004
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November 18, 2004
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February 12, 2005 (Not in New York)
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January 7, 2005
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January 21, 2005
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April 9, 2005
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March 4, 2005
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March 18, 2005
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June 11, 2005
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May 6, 2005
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May 20, 2005
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