The Enhanced ACT has three required multiple choice sections: English, Mathematics and Reading, plus two optional sections, Science and Writing. English has 50 questions in 35 minutes, Mathematics has 45 questions in 50 minutes with an on screen calculator, and Reading has 36 questions in 40 minutes; each section includes a small number of unscored questions ACT is trying out for future tests, mixed in without being identified. Together the three required sections take 2 hours and 5 minutes. A student who also takes Science, 40 questions in 40 minutes, and Writing, one essay in 40 minutes, has a total testing time of about 3 hours and 25 minutes.
The ACT can be taken on paper or on a computer at an official test centre, and a student chooses the format that suits them when registering. The Composite score, from 1 to 36, is now the average of English, Mathematics and Reading only. A student who also takes Science receives a separate Science score and a STEM score that averages Science and Mathematics; a student who also takes Writing receives a separate Writing score and an ELA score that averages English, Reading and Writing. Neither Science nor Writing changes the Composite score.
Registration costs US$70 for the three required sections; adding the Writing section brings the total to US$95. This fee includes score reports sent to the student, the student's high school, and up to four colleges chosen at registration. Over 97 percent of scores are available online within 1 to 4 weeks of the test date.
ACT does not publish a fixed expiry date on a score. Scores stay on file and can still be sent later, though ACT charges a nonrefundable archive fee on top of the usual per report fee for any score report 3 or more years old, and a request for a score from before September 2011 needs a separate paper form rather than the online system. It is up to each college how recent a score it wants to see.
A student can retake the ACT as many times as they want; ACT states there is no limit on attempts, though a student retakes the whole test rather than a single section on its own. Once a student has two attempts on file, ACT automatically works out an official Superscore, combining the highest English, Mathematics and Reading section scores across those attempts into one composite, viewable in the student's MyACT account and sendable to colleges from there; not every college uses the Superscore in its decision, but the underlying section scores from each sitting are available either way.
Colleges and universities that use the ACT set their own expectation for a competitive Composite score at bachelor level, and expectations vary a great deal by how selective a programme is; the ACT is rarely used for master's admission. A prospective student should check what a specific programme itself publishes rather than assume one figure applies everywhere.
- https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/registration/fees.html
- https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/test-preparation/act-exam-sections-and-structure.html
- https://counselorblog.act.org/the-enhanced-act-explained
- https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/scores/sending-your-scores.html
- https://www.act.org/content/act/en/students-and-parents/high-school-success/testing-advice-for-the-act/reasons-to-retest.html
- https://www.act.org/content/act/en/students-and-parents/high-school-success/testing-advice-for-the-act/superscore-faqs.html