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What these practice tests cover
Both tests are full-length versions of the enhanced ACT, the format used for all national ACT testing since September 2025. Each has the same sections in the same order as the real test, with the same number of questions and the same time limits.
| Section | Each practice test | Real enhanced ACT |
|---|---|---|
| English | 50 questions · 35 min | 50 questions · 35 min |
| Math | 45 questions · 50 min | 45 questions · 50 min |
| Reading | 36 questions · 40 min | 36 questions · 40 min |
| Science (optional) | 40 questions · 40 min | 40 questions · 40 min |
- English: six passages in Test 1, five in Test 2.
- Math: four answer choices per question, like the enhanced ACT, and each math section runs from easier to harder questions.
- Reading: four passages per test (literary narrative, social science, humanities, natural science), one of them a paired set.
- Science: seven passages per test, in all three ACT science formats.
Questions in every section follow ACT's official reporting categories, and your results break down by those categories. Every question is original, written to match the ACT's style and difficulty. None are copied from ACT materials.
How to use them: exam mode vs. practice mode
- Exam mode times each section and holds your results until the end, like test day. Use it for a baseline: the core sections take 2 hours 5 minutes (2 hours 45 minutes with science), so block out a phone-free stretch.
- Practice mode is untimed by default and shows the answer and explanation after each question. Use it to learn a question type, then switch back to exam mode to build speed.
- Quick drill pulls 10 random standalone questions when you only have ten minutes. On these tests that means math, because every English, reading, and science question belongs to a passage.
Two tests, one plan: take Test 1 in exam mode as your baseline, work on your weakest categories, then take Test 2 to see whether it paid off.
Skipping science on test day? You can still take it here. It's the fastest way to decide whether it's worth adding (see our ACT Science guide).
How the real ACT is scored
On the real test, each section gets a scale score from 1 to 36. Your composite is the average of English, math, and reading, rounded to the nearest whole number. Science and writing don't count toward it. If you take science, you also get a science score and a STEM score (the average of math and science).
Two things matter for strategy. First, there's no penalty for wrong answers, so never leave a bubble blank. Second, each real section includes unscored field-test questions you can't identify (English has 40 scored questions out of 50, math 41 of 45, reading 27 of 36, and science 34 of 40), so treat every question as if it counts.
Raw-to-scale conversion changes from form to form, so these practice tests report percent correct by section and category instead of a guessed 1–36 score. For a true scaled estimate, take one of ACT's official practice tests.
What to do after you finish
- Sort your misses by category, not by section. Five misses in one math category tell you more than your overall math percent does.
- Read every explanation, including the ones you got right. The "why the tempting answer is wrong" part is where the points are.
- Fix your weakest area first with our ACT Math guide or Science guide.
- Retest under time with Test 2 or a full-length official test, then pick a test date that leaves room for a retake.
Free official ACT practice
ACT offers free full-length practice tests, including science and writing. Its free practice test booklet (2025|2026 edition) includes an enhanced-format practice test and the official content breakdowns. For short sessions, ACT's free QuizMe quizzes and the Question of the Day in MyACT work well. Use official tests for your final score checks, and use ours for diagnosis, drilling, and a fresh form to retest on.
Sample questions
5 questions from this practice test, with answers and explanations. Take the full test above for timing, scoring and your weakest domains.
Passage III — Cooler by Design
On a sunny summer afternoon, a dark roof can become much hotter than the air around it. Multiply that roof by thousands, and [18] you have one reason for the reason why cities are often warmer than the countryside around them. Scientists call this difference the urban heat island effect.
Dark surfaces absorb most of the sunlight that strikes them and [19] releases that energy as heat. Light-colored surfaces, by contrast, reflect much of the sunlight back toward the sky. [20] Roofs can be built in many styles, one of which is "cool roofs," which are roofs coated with white or other highly reflective materials. A building with a cool roof tends to stay cooler [21] inside so, it may need less energy for air-conditioning. [22]
Some cities have started programs that [23] give building owners a nudge to get cool roofs slapped on. In addition, volunteers in some neighborhoods have spent summer weekends [24] rolling white coating onto the flat roofs of apartment buildings. The work is simple enough that almost anyone with a paint roller can help.
Cool roofs are not a perfect solution, however. In places with long, cold winters, a reflective roof can bounce away sunlight that would otherwise help warm a building. [25] For this reason, the best roof for a building depends on the local climate. Still, for cities that swelter through long summers, a coat of white may be one of the simplest cooling tools available.
Portion [19]: “releases”
Which choice is best? If the original is best, choose NO CHANGE.
- A. NO CHANGE
- B. releasing
- C. has released
- D. release
Show answerHide answer
The subject "Dark surfaces" has two verbs joined by "and": surfaces absorb … and release. Both must be plural and in the same tense: release.
"Releases" is tempting because it sits right after "them" and "strikes," but its subject is "surfaces," several words back. "Has released" is singular and shifts tense.
A jacket has a regular price of $80.00. It is on sale for 25% off, and then an 8% sales tax is added to the sale price. What is the total cost of the jacket?
- A. $60.00
- B. $64.80
- C. $66.40
- D. $86.40
Show answerHide answer
Sale price: $80.00 × 0.75 = $60.00. Tax is applied to that: $60.00 × 1.08 = $64.80.
$66.40 comes from netting the percents first (25% off, 8% on = 17% off) and applying that to $80. The tax is calculated on the sale price, not the original price, so you can't just combine the percents.
A right triangle has legs of length 9 and 12. A second triangle is similar to the first, and its hypotenuse has length 25. What is the perimeter of the second triangle?
- A. 46
- B. 60
- C. 66
- D. 100
Show answerHide answer
The first triangle's hypotenuse is √(9² + 12²) = √225 = 15, so its perimeter is 9 + 12 + 15 = 36. The scale factor is 25/15 = 5/3, and perimeters scale by the same factor: 36 × 5/3 = 60. (The sides are 15, 20, 25.)
66 adds 10 to every side, but similar figures scale by multiplying, not adding. 100 uses the area factor (5/3)², which doesn't apply to perimeter.
A school surveyed 200 students about whether they prefer online or in-person tutoring. The results are shown below.
| Online | In-person | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 10 | 48 | 52 | 100 |
| Grade 11 | 66 | 34 | 100 |
| Total | 114 | 86 | 200 |
A student who prefers online tutoring is chosen at random. What is the probability that the student is in Grade 11?
- A. 33/100
- B. 57/100
- C. 11/19
- D. 33/50
Show answerHide answer
The condition ("prefers online") shrinks the group to the 114 online students. Of those, 66 are in Grade 11: 66/114 = 11/19.
33/50 (= 66/100) answers the reverse question: the probability that a Grade 11 student prefers online. 33/100 (= 66/200) divides by the whole survey. Always ask: out of which group?
Passage I — Dissolved Oxygen in Ponds
Dissolved oxygen (DO) is oxygen gas dissolved in water. The maximum amount of DO that fresh water can hold depends on the water's temperature (see Figure 1).
Percent saturation compares the DO measured in a water sample with the maximum DO at that sample's temperature:
percent saturation = (measured DO ÷ maximum DO) × 100%
Values above 100% (supersaturation) can occur when aquatic plants and algae release oxygen through photosynthesis faster than the oxygen escapes to the air.
Students measured the water temperature and DO in 4 ponds at 2:00 p.m. on the same day (Table 1). Table 2 lists the minimum DO that each of 3 fish species (Species P, Q, and R) needs in order to survive for long periods.
| Pond | Water temperature (°C) | Measured DO (mg/L) | Percent saturation |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 10 | 10.2 | 90% |
| B | 20 | 9.1 | 100% |
| C | 25 | 5.0 | 60% |
| D | 15 | 12.1 | 120% |
| Fish species | Minimum DO needed (mg/L) |
|---|---|
| P | 7.0 |
| Q | 5.5 |
| R | 4.0 |
A student claimed, "Among the 4 ponds, the warmer a pond's water was, the lower its measured DO was." Do the data in Table 1 support this claim?
- A. No; Pond D was warmer than Pond A but had a higher measured DO.
- B. No; Pond C was the warmest pond and had the lowest measured DO.
- C. Yes; Pond C was the warmest pond and had the lowest measured DO.
- D. Yes; measured DO decreased as temperature increased in every case.
Show answerHide answer
Sort the ponds by temperature: A (10°C, 10.2), D (15°C, 12.1), B (20°C, 9.1), C (25°C, 5.0). Going from A to D, the temperature rises and the DO rises, so the pattern breaks. No, because of Pond D versus Pond A.
Pond C does fit the claim, but one pond that fits can't prove a rule about all four. One counterexample is enough to reject it.
More ACT guides
The ACT in 2026–27: What You Need to Know
The ACT got shorter in 2025: fewer questions, optional science, and a composite built on English, math, and reading…
Read Book picksBest ACT Prep Books for 2026–27
Start with ACT’s own guide. ACT’s books are the only ones built from real ACT test questions.
Read GuideACT Math Guide: What’s Tested and How to Score Higher
45 questions, 50 minutes, four answer choices, calculator allowed.
Read GuideACT Science Guide: Who Should Take It and How to Ace It
Science is an optional add-on on the enhanced ACT, and it doesn’t touch your composite.
Read Test datesACT Test Dates 2026–27
Seven national test dates, from September 19, 2026 to July 10, 2027.
ReadFrequently asked questions
Are these ACT practice tests the same length as the real ACT?
Yes. Each one matches the enhanced ACT's question counts and time limits: 131 questions in 2 hours 5 minutes for English, math, and reading, plus 40 science questions in 40 minutes if you add science. One difference: every question here counts toward your results, while the real test mixes in unscored field-test questions you can't identify.
Do these practice tests give me an ACT score?
They give you percent correct by section and by category. ACT converts raw scores to 1–36 with tables that change from form to form, so any 1–36 estimate from a non-official test would be a guess. Official ACT practice tests include real scoring tables.
Is Test 2 harder than Test 1?
It isn't meant to be. Both use the same blueprint: same section lengths, same reporting categories, and a similar mix of easier and harder questions. Test 2 is all-new, so use it as a retest after you've fixed the weak spots Test 1 showed you.
Are these based on the old ACT or the new one?
The new one: the enhanced ACT, with shorter sections, four math answer choices, and optional science. If a prep resource still shows 75 English questions or five math answer choices, it's built on the legacy format.