The ACT is a standardized exam for college admissions. The ACT includes the following tests: English, Reading, Math and Science, as well as an optional Writing Test. In addition, some schools may require the Writing Test.
English
- 75 Multiple Choice Questions
- 45 Minute Time Limit
- Tests usage/mechanics and rhetorical skills
The first section is the 45-minute English test covering usage/mechanics and rhetorical skills. The 75-question test consists of five passages with various sections underlined on one side of the page and options to correct the underlined portions on the other side of the page. More specifically, questions focus on usage and mechanics – issues such as commas, apostrophes, (misplaced/dangling) modifiers, the colons, and fragments and run-ons – as well as on rhetorical skills – style (clarity and brevity), strategy, transitions, and organization (sentences in a paragraph and paragraphs in a passage).
Math
- 60 Multiple-Choice Questions
- 60 Minute Time Limit
- Emphasis on Geometry with some algebra and trigonometry
The second section is the 60-minute, 60-question math test with 14 covering pre-algebra, 10 elementary algebra, 9 intermediate algebra, 14 plane geometry, 9 coordinate geometry, and 4 elementary trigonometry.[14] Calculators are permitted in this section only. The calculator requirements are stricter than the SAT’s in that computer algebra systems are not allowed; however, the ACT permits calculators with paper tapes, that make noise, or that have power cords with certain “modifications” (i.e., disabling the mentioned features), which the SAT does not allow.[15] Also, this is the only section that has five instead of four answer choices.
Reading
- 40 multiple-choice questions
- 35 Minute Time Limit
- Passages inclue prose fiction, social studies, humanities and natural sciences
The 35-minute, 40-question reading section measures reading comprehension in four passages (taken and edited from books and magazines) one representing prose fiction (short stories and novels), another representing social science (history, economics, psychology, political science, and anthropology), a third representing humanities (art, music, architecture, dance), and the last representing natural science (biology, chemistry, physics, and the physical sciences), in that order.
Science
- 40 Multiple-Choice Questions
- 35 Minute Time Limit
- Questions on science-based passages
Writing
1 Optional Essay
30 Minute Time Limit
The optional writing section, which is always administered at the end of the test, is 30 minutes long. All essays must be in response to a given prompt. The prompts are about a social issue applicable to high school students. This test has no effect on the overall composite score. Instead, a separate english/writing score is created. For example, a student were to score a 10 out of 12 on the writing, and the student scored an english composite score of 25 then the score would be affected, but would most likely stay the same. If a student were to score poorly on the writing section, then the score would be reduced from 25 to 23 at the most. A two point demerit is the maximum allowed for a writing penalty. No particular essay structure is required. Two trained readers assign each essay a score between 1 and 6, where a score of 0 is reserved for essays that are blank, off-topic, non-English, not written with no. 2 pencil, or considered illegible after several attempts at reading. The scores are summed to produce a final score from 2 to 12 (or 0). If the two readers’ scores differ by more than one.
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