ACT test updates take effect this month! As we mentioned last summer, the ACT is getting an overhaul. The new format will have three core sections–English, Reading, and Math–plus an optional science section. The core sections will also be shorter than their current counterparts. This new version of the ACT is rolling out in stages.
- April 2025: New version of the ACT will be administered to students registered for online national testing.
- September 2025: the online and the paper-based test formats for national testing dates will be the new, shorter ACT with an optional science section.
- Spring 2026: Students taking the ACT during the school day will take the new version of the ACT. Between now and then students will continue to complete the four core subject paper test when taking it at a school location.
Composite scoring will remain 1-36, with a perfect score of 36. However, the composite score will now be the average of English, math, and reading only, even if students choose to take the science section. Colleges are beginning to announce scoring policies for students who sit for both the current paper test and the updated digital test released this month.
Harvard University states on their website:
We will continue to accept the ACT regardless of the version a student takes. Consistent with our superscoring policy, we will not superscore across the two versions of the ACT. You should submit the highest composite you receive on a single test. The optional science portion of the new ACT is not required for applying to Harvard.
This policy is similar to what most colleges adopted when the SAT transitioned from paper to digital format. Superscores were only applied to multiple paper scores or multiple digital scores, but not a mix of both.
However, Stanford University’s policy is a little more complicated. Their website reads:
For the ACT, you may report the calculated ACT superscore in addition to your highest section scores.
- Starting in Spring 2025, the ACT will phase in a redesigned exam with an optional science section. For Stanford, this section will also become optional. Beginning in the 2025-2026 application cycle, we will accept scores from both the original and redesigned versions of the ACT.
- We understand that students may not have a choice about which ACT exam is available to them during the transition period, or students may have scores from a previously taken original exam. We will accept both exams equally and have no preference for one over the other.
The calculated ACT superscore will include science if taken as a required section, but it will not include science if taken as an optional section.
Main Takeaways:
- If planning to submit ACT scores, carefully research each school’s scoring policy before taking and submitting scores.
- From what we are seeing, there is a good chance the science section will be optional even at colleges where ACT/SAT scores are required. If science is hurting your composite score, try switching to the new digital format with the optional science section. This way, your composite score will only include reading, English, and math.
- Colleges may not superscore between the two versions of the ACT. For that reason, I *strongly* suggest current juniors that are close to their goal score continue with the paper-based version of the test and finish by July before the changes go into effect.
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