ACT Exam
The ACT exam, which was first administered in the fall of 1959, is a test used by colleges and universities for admissions and placement purposes. It is a nationally recognized exam, so students in all fifty states, and in countries throughout the world, may choose to take the exam and submit their scores. The material covered on the exam is curriculum-based, meaning it is not an aptitude or intelligence test. Instead, the ACT exam tests students on material they have learned in math, science, and English high school classes, so students are familiar with the questions being asked.
The ACT is broken down into four sections, with an optional fifth section. The four mandatory sections are comprised of multiple choice questions covering material related to English, science, reading, and math. There are seventy-five English questions, forty science questions, forty reading questions, and sixty mathematical questions, for a total of 215 questions. The fifth section, which is optional, is a writing test. Some colleges and universities require or highly recommend that applicants take the writing test, while others do not feel it is needed. This test assesses a student’s ability to plan and write an essay. The highest possible score a student can receive on the ACT exam is a 36. The average score students received, who took the exam in 2006, was a 21.1. This was up from the national average of a score of 20.9 in 2005.
Students can register to take the exam online or through a paper application form. If a student needs to request special accommodations because of a disability, is testing outside of the United States, is requesting the registration fee to be waived, is using a state-funded voucher to pay for the registration fee, or is younger than thirteen years old; the student must register with a paper application. There is a registration fee, currently for 2006 and 2007, of $29.00. This includes four score reports which can be sent to up to four colleges or universities. The registration fee for the ACT Plus Writing is $43.00.
The exam is administered across the 50 United States on five different test days, one day each in the months of October, December, February, April, and June. There are also some states that offer an additional test date in September. The basic exam, without the writing portion, is about four hours, including administrator test directions and breaks. The actual time allotted to taking the exam is 2 hours and 55 minutes with 45 minutes for the English section, 35 minutes for science, 35 minutes for reading, and 60 minutes allowed for the math section. Students taking the writing portion of the exam will be given 30 minutes to complete the essay.
Many students take the exam for the first time as a junior in high school. Because students may take the exam as many times as they wish, but only one time per test day, taking the exam as a junior allows them to get the “feel” of the exam and also see what they can work on to improve their scores. A majority of students take the exam once in their junior year and again as seniors. Research has shown that of students who take the exam more than once, 55% improve their composite scores, 22% have no change, and 23% have lower composite scores.