The ACT in 2026–27: What You Need to Know

The ACT is a college admissions test made by ACT. High school students take it, usually in junior or senior year, to send scores to colleges and scholarship programs. It measures skills you've built in school: grammar and writing choices, algebra through basic trig, reading comprehension, and, if you opt in, scientific reasoning.

You can take it on a national Saturday test date at a test center, and some states and districts also offer it during the school day. Those school-day programs moved to the enhanced format in spring 2026. Ask your counselor which option you have. Colleges that consider test scores generally accept the ACT and the SAT equally, so the real question is which one suits you. Our SAT vs. ACT comparison breaks that down.

Since September 2025, every national ACT, paper or online, uses the enhanced ACT format. Here's the whole test at a glance.

The core test is 131 questions in 125 minutes (2 hours 5 minutes of testing time). Add science and it's 2 hours 45 minutes. The gap between total and scored questions comes from unscored field-test questions that ACT embeds in each section without labeling them. You can't tell which ones they are, so give every question full effort.

Math questions now have four answer choices instead of five, and there's no penalty for wrong answers. Never leave a question blank.

ACT publishes official reporting categories for every section. These percentages are the best guide to where your study time should go.

English (50 questions, 35 minutes)

You edit several short essays by choosing the best version of marked words, phrases, and sentences, or keeping the original ("NO CHANGE"). Production of Writing (38–43%) covers transitions, relevance, and whether a sentence should be added or deleted. Knowledge of Language (18–23%) covers concision, precise word choice, and tone. Conventions of Standard English (38–43%) covers punctuation, sentence structure, agreement, and usage. At 42 seconds per question, it's the fastest-paced section.

Math (45 questions, 50 minutes)

Preparing for Higher Math is 80% of the section: Number and Quantity (10–12%), Algebra (17–20%), Functions (17–20%), Geometry (17–20%), and Statistics & Probability (12–15%). Integrating Essential Skills (20%) covers multistep problems built on rates, percents, ratios, and proportional reasoning. Modeling isn't a separate block. ACT tags any question that asks you to build or interpret a model. You can use a calculator on the whole section. Full breakdown and strategies are in our ACT Math guide.

Reading (36 questions, 40 minutes)

You read multiple passages, which can include paired passages, and answer questions in three categories: Key Ideas & Details (44–52%), Craft & Structure (26–33%), and Integration of Knowledge & Ideas (19–26%). Reading got five more minutes and four fewer questions than the legacy test, so the pace is noticeably friendlier.

Science (optional: 40 questions, 40 minutes)

Science is really a data-reasoning test. Research Summaries passages make up 50–56% of it, Data Representation 26–32%, and Conflicting Viewpoints 18–21%. No calculator is allowed. See our ACT Science guide for whether to take it.

Writing (optional: one essay, 40 minutes)

You write one argumentative essay. It's scored 2–12 across four domains: Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, and Language Use and Conventions. Take it only if a college on your list asks for it.

• Section scores: English, math, reading, and science (if taken) are each scored 1–36.
• Composite: the average of English, math, and reading, rounded to the nearest whole number. Science and writing never affect it.
• STEM score: the rounded average of math and science. You only get it if you take science.
• ELA score: the rounded average of English, reading, and writing. You only get it if you take writing.
• Superscore: ACT's superscore is the average of your highest English, math, and reading scores across all the ACT tests you've taken. Whether a college uses it is up to the college, so check each school's policy.

What's a "good" ACT score? Whatever puts you in or above the middle 50% range for the colleges you're targeting. Many colleges publish those ranges on their admissions pages, and you'll also find them in each school's Common Data Set. Ignore generic cutoffs, and check the numbers for your actual list.

Register through your MyACT account. Deadlines close at 11:59 p.m. Central on the deadline date. Each national date has a regular deadline and a later deadline that carries a late fee. After that, you can request standby testing, but seats aren't guaranteed. Changing your test date also costs a fee each time.

ACT lists current registration prices, including the optional add-ons and the change fee, on its official fees page. Check it when you register, because fees can change each school year. If cost is a problem, ask your counselor about ACT fee waivers.

Online or paper? ACT offers the enhanced ACT on paper or online. What you can choose depends on the test centers near you. Online testers get a Desmos graphing calculator built into the math section, and online scores usually post a few days sooner. On paper, bring your own permitted calculator. Calculators with a computer algebra system (like the TI-89 or TI-Nspire CAS) are banned.

All 2026–27 dates, deadlines, and score release days are on our ACT test dates page.

The enhanced ACT debuted on national online tests in April 2025. All national testing, paper included, switched in September 2025, and state and district school-day testing programs followed in spring 2026. ACT describes the result as up to 84 fewer questions and 50 fewer minutes than before. For the full story, read The enhanced ACT: what changed and what it means for you.

Plan on 8–12 weeks of steady prep at about 4–6 hours a week. Here's a simple way to structure it:

1. Week 1: Baseline. Take a timed practice test (Test 1 of our free full-length ACT practice tests or an official one). Sort your misses by reporting category.
2. Weeks 2–6: Fix the biggest leaks. Spend about 70% of your time on your two weakest categories. English conventions are rule-based, so they're often the quickest points to pick up. Pair them with your weakest math category.
3. Weeks 7–9: Add speed. Do timed single sections twice a week and one full practice test per week, mostly official ones. If you used our Test 1 as your baseline, our Test 2 gives you a fresh form to retest on. Review every miss, including your lucky guesses.
4. Week 10: Taper. One last full test early in the week, then light review. Pack your admission ticket, ID, and approved calculator the night before.

Only have four weeks? Take one diagnostic test, pick the single section with the most room to grow, and drill it daily. Remember that science isn't in the composite, so if it's the composite you care about, spend your time on English, math, and reading.

• ACT free practice tests: full-length, including science and writing.
• ACT's 2025|2026 practice test booklet (PDF): an enhanced-format practice test plus the official content breakdowns quoted on this page.
• ACT QuizMe: short practice quizzes in English, math, reading, and science.
• MyACT: registration, scores, and ACT's Question of the Day.

Want a book? The official guide comes first. See our best ACT prep books for which ones match the enhanced format.

• Free ACT practice tests: two full-length enhanced ACTs (171 questions each, optional science included) at real timing, with explanations.
• ACT Math guide: content weights, worked examples, and the traps that cost points.
• ACT Science guide: who should still take it and how to read graphs fast.
• Best ACT prep books: which books match the current test.
• ACT test dates 2026–27: deadlines and score release dates.