New Test Changes to ACT: Digital Version & Science Section Now Optional
Important ACT Exam Changes
Hi Parents and Students,
Hope you are all doing well! Very recently in mid-July 2024, the ACT Exam testing organization unveiled some important changes to their exam format. We’ll cover these updates in our email recap here.
Big ACT Changes
ACT National Online testing will be starting in Spring 2025 for students in the U.S. This means students can take the digital version of the ACT beginning in Spring 2025 (roughly 6 months from now). International students can take the Digital ACT in Fall 2025.
The Science section will become optional. Previously the Science section was required. There are now 4 versions of the exam that a student can take:
ACT - Now only Math, Reading, and English (Grammar)
ACT + Science (Students who choose to take the Science section will receive a STEM score based on math and science performance)
ACT + Essay Prompt Writing
ACT + Science + Essay Prompt Writing
Test length goes from 195 minutes to 125 minutes
The number of answer choices on Math goes down from 5 to 4.
The ACT exam’s score is still scored from 1-36, with 36 being the perfect score.
Taking the ACT paper version will continue be an option even after Spring 2025.
We’ll share some of our observations on these changes below:
Our Program believes that students who are interested in studying STEM should take the ACT + Science edition (or ACT + Science + Essay Writing) of the exam as it gives additional data points into the strength of answer challenging science based passages & charts/graphs.
Students who are interested in humanities majors in their college search should consider including the ACT Essay Writing test in their overall ACT testing experience. This is because the more data points an applicant can show related to their strengths, the stronger the applicant narrative is to persuade the admission officers that this selected major is a good fit for him/her.
The shorter ACT Exam will give hard working students an opportunity to increase their endurance on the test will be less grueling than before from a time perspective.
Ivy League schools and universities with selective admission rates will continue to heavily weigh the SAT and ACT exams in their process.
Overall, the ACT Exam’s format is undergoing one of its biggest changes in years but its relevance in selective/competitive admissions continues to be high.
We think that parents and students who prepare well for the SAT and/or ACT continue to have the edge in the upcoming competitive college admissions cycles.
We’ll keep you updated on future news announcements about the Digital SAT and ACT, and share our insights as more developments come out.
Be sure to connect with us and book a time with us for a call if you want to brainstorm a strategy session to understand how the SAT and ACT can help you with your son/daughter’s college admission goals.
-Tigerway Coaching Team
Brief High Level Blog Posts from our website:
At Tigerway, we help our students succeed on the current and new Digital SAT. We strive to keep our students up-to-date with our wide collection of resources from our digital library. In addition, we assist students in developing effective strategies for tackling SAT problems and provide individualized support to help each student reach their goals.
Our Coaching program supports SAT/ACT, High School Courses (Regular/AP), and College Admissions Strategy. If you are interested in our program, please contact Coach Calvin Cheung at 617-749-8421 or Program Officer Sreya Ravi 774-432-7381. Please give us a call today for a roadmap session on how academic coaching, SAT/ACTs, and college consulting can help you. We currently have a waitlist for private coaching and it will be first come first serve.
Feel free to read the other emails that we’ve sent out from our Substack Email List - all public:
How to think about planning ahead for College Admissions as an underclassmen
What hard work can do for you in terms of personal growth and SAT Scores rising
Tigerway is a proud Founding Member of the National Test Prep Association (NTPA) where the NTPA consistently communicates with the College Board’s SAT Exam Team and ACT Exam to understand the future of academics and standardized testing.
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