The ACT and SAT are like siblings, each fighting to keep the other in its place. And while both tests hold the keys to many students’ collegiate futures, they are both for-profit businesses. As businesses, they will continue to compete for students’ affections. As this rivalry gains momentum, as it most definitely will (barring some unforeseen change in the college admissions landscape, such as the entry of a third test into the picture), expect further change to come from the Beast of the East and possibly from the Mighty Test from the West. Meanwhile, here are the latest changes from the ACT.

Following changes to the SAT ranging from moving from paper to digital format, and reducing the length of the test, the ACT has just followed suit with a whole slew of changes and updates that will be rolled out during AY 2024–2025. Among the changes is the fact that the ACT Science section is now optional. Like the writing section, science will be offered as an additional section. This means students can now choose to take the ACT, the ACT plus science, the ACT plus writing, or the ACT plus science and writing. The ACT Composite score will be the average of the English, reading, and math scores. The Composite and section scores will continue to be reported on a 1-36 scale.

The basic ACT test will also be shorter and have fewer questions allowing students more time to answer each question. The new court test will be reduced to two hours, and will feature fewer questions and shorter passages, changes that mirror recent changes to the SAT. This is particularly interesting because one of the knocks against the ACT in the past is that students had far less time to answer each question that they did for the SAT. Also, online ACT testing will roll out nationally in April 2025, and before that in certain select locations.