About ACT
The ACT is accepted and preferred by most colleges and universities in the United States. In many cases, you can take the ACT instead of the SAT. In general, colleges on the East and West Coasts prefer or put more emphasis on the SAT, whereas colleges in the South and the Midwest prefer the ACT.
The ACT is offered five times per year nationwide and sometimes six times per year in selected cities. Excluding breaks and setup time, the test is two hours and fifty-five minutes long. The ACT is a four-part, multiple-choice test that focuses on English, math, reading, and science. The English portion of the test is seventy-five questions and forty-five minutes long; the math portion is sixty questions and sixty minutes long; the reading is forty questions and thirty-five minutes long; and the science portion is forty questions and thirty-five minutes long. The ACT recently added a thirty-minute writing portion that is optional.
The reading portion consists of four passages taken from books and articles that are appropriate for college freshmen. The passages focus on four main topics: fiction, social science, humanities, and science. You will be asked about your understanding of the passages and their organization.
Finally, the science section consists of seven passages—divided into three categories—and questions based on those passages. The first category is data representation where you are presented with graphs; the questions focus on your interpretation of the graphs. The second category is research summary; you will be asked to evaluate research finding based on what is presented to you. Then the conflicting viewpoints section will require you to define and evaluate the two viewpoints presented.
Similar to any other standardized test, the best preparation method is to practice from actual test questions. There are several test preparation options available to you, and you should try to take as many real questions as you can and take a few real tests under actual testing conditions.
Where can I find more information?
You can find more information for ACT at ACT Website.
The ACT is accepted and preferred by most colleges and universities in the United States. In many cases, you can take the ACT instead of the SAT. In general, colleges on the East and West Coasts prefer or put more emphasis on the SAT, whereas colleges in the South and the Midwest prefer the ACT.
The ACT is offered five times per year nationwide and sometimes six times per year in selected cities. Excluding breaks and setup time, the test is two hours and fifty-five minutes long. The ACT is a four-part, multiple-choice test that focuses on English, math, reading, and science. The English portion of the test is seventy-five questions and forty-five minutes long; the math portion is sixty questions and sixty minutes long; the reading is forty questions and thirty-five minutes long; and the science portion is forty questions and thirty-five minutes long. The ACT recently added a thirty-minute writing portion that is optional.
The ACT is scored between zero and thirty-six, the national average being twenty-one. Each section is scored, and then those scores are averaged together to create the ACT composite score. The optional writing section is not scored; it is only sent to college admission boards as another measure of your critical thinking skills. The English portion of the test focuses on grammar and usage issues and rhetorical style. There are five reading passages in the English section, and you will be asked comprehension questions rather than vocabulary questions. You will also identify grammar and usage problems in sentences, and you will reorganize sentences in paragraphs to improve rhetoric. The math portion allows you to use a calculator, but there are certain restrictions. When you register for the ACT, the restrictions will be printed with your admission ticket. Questions in the math portion are divided between pre-algebra, algebra, intermediate algebra, plane geometry, coordinate geometry, and elementary trigonometry. The test is focused towards information learned through the third year in high school.
The reading portion consists of four passages taken from books and articles that are appropriate for college freshmen. The passages focus on four main topics: fiction, social science, humanities, and science. You will be asked about your understanding of the passages and their organization.
Finally, the science section consists of seven passages—divided into three categories—and questions based on those passages. The first category is data representation where you are presented with graphs; the questions focus on your interpretation of the graphs. The second category is research summary; you will be asked to evaluate research finding based on what is presented to you. Then the conflicting viewpoints section will require you to define and evaluate the two viewpoints presented.
Similar to any other standardized test, the best preparation method is to practice from actual test questions. There are several test preparation options available to you, and you should try to take as many real questions as you can and take a few real tests under actual testing conditions.
Where can I find more information?
You can find more information for ACT at ACT Website.
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