Beginning September of next year, the American College Testing (ACT) standardized test will launch section retesting, superscoring and faster results with online testing, according to ACT.org, the nonprofit organization administering the test. ACT does not currently superscore testing; however, some universities do. 

Most highly selective schools including Cornell University, Dartmouth College and Harvard University, do not follow the same guidelines and require the highest cumulative score, according to the Compass Education Group, an organization providing high quality one-on-one test preparation and academic tutoring. It is unknown whether or not post-secondary institutions will superscore after the changes.

Additionally, students will have the choice to take the ACT online as opposed to paper testing, according to ACT.org. Students will receive their multiple-choice test scores and ACT Composite score as early as two business days after the test date. ACT believes this change allows students to “make better, more informed and timely decisions” about college decisions and scholarships, according to the website.

The ACT covers four academic skill areas: English, mathematics, reading and science reasoning. Additionally, it offers an optional writing test. All colleges accept a writing score; however, few require them. 

Currently, scores on the four required sections are averaged into a composite score and graded on a scale of one to 36. Students test for two hours and 55 minutes in one sitting, or three hours and 30 minutes including breaks, according to The Princeton Review. Next year, however, the way ACT will coordinate testing and evaluate scores will differ.

“So, my understanding, which is slightly limited at this point, is that they’re going to allow students, first of all, to superscore and then secondly, allow students to just take certain portions of the test at a time, which you technically can do now,” RBHS ACT Coordinator Melissa Coil said. “. . .You’ll be able to literally just sign up for the math test, pay for that 60-minute math test, come and just take that 60-minute math test, and that’s it.”

Coil recently visited with a correspondent from ACT to discuss what the new format will look like and said the ACT hasn’t quite figured out what testing will entail yet but are excited about the changes. Still, she believes it “could be a logistical nightmare.”

These new options, according to ACT.org, “offer students more choices, a better experience and greater confidence that their ACT test scores best reflect their hard work, overall academic achievement and potential for success throughout their lives.” Ultimately, ACT wants the test to allow students to achieve their goals and even save money in the process. 

Taking the whole test costs $52 without the optional writing section, and $68 with it, according to The New York Times. Taking an individual section would be cheaper, but ACT has not yet decided on a price. 

Senior Chloe Morse, who took the ACT three times, believes the alteration to future ACT testing will make the exam impractical in showing any academic qualities.

“If you retake the same section over and over,” Morse said, “the results no longer show what you actually know; they show what you’ve learned in order to get a higher score.”

Coil believes the situation raises both benefits and concerns. On one hand, students may now be able to qualify for scholarships that require a higher composite ACT score that they wouldn’t have qualified for before, but, on the other hand, the changes to testing may make college applications “trickier and even more difficult,” she said.

“[Section retesting] might potentially give students the opportunity to have their brain focused on one thing,” Coil said. “And, I think it will hopefully increase scores because of that. Not necessarily because the test has become easier, but because the testing situation has become easier.”

Junior Madison Moller, who took the ACT for the first time in June, likes the new changes because she could potentially redo her worst sections, in particular the science section, individually in a shorter time period than the entire test.

“The ability to focus for three and a half hours and do well can be difficult, especially with the pressure attached to the ACT,” Moller said. “So, the new option to retake a section individually will allow for sharper focus and lead to better results.”

Nobody knows how these changes will affect future high school students and their aspirations after their secondary education. Coil believes for next year’s graduating seniors, the ACT changes will be “kind of a funky transition.”

“A few years down the road, I have a feeling it will just be like this is the new norm and a lot of [colleges] will probably, hopefully, start using that superscore because that’s what ACT is going to do,” Coil said. “. . .It’s going to take a couple of years for it to play out before we’ll really know the impact it’s making.”

What are your thoughts on the new ACT test-taking policy? Let us know in the comments below.