ACT Will Be Shorter and Give Students More Flexibility Starting in 2025

ACT recently announced the college admissions test will change in two significant ways in the spring of 2025: First, the science section will become optional. While English, reading, and math will remain as the core sections that generate a score that can be sent to colleges and universities, science will join writing as an additional section students can choose whether to take. Students’ test options will be the core ACT; ACT plus science; ACT plus writing; or ACT plus science and writing.“With this flexibility, students can focus on their strengths and showcase their abilities in the best possible way,” ACT’s CEO, Janet Godwin, wrote in a recent blog post. Second, the length of the test will be reduced by up to one-third, depending on which version a student takes. The new core test of English, reading, and math will take two hours compared to the current test’s three. This will mean shorter passages in the reading and English sections and fewer questions in each section. Timeline for Changes and Upcoming TestsThe changes will take effect with national online testing in April 2025, followed by in-person testing in September 2025. School-day testing, such as the one scheduled for March for juniors,...