About

The ACT consists of four multiple-choice tests - English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science and an optional writing test. Topics covered on these five tests correspond very closely to topics covered in typical high school classes.

You have seven ACT test dates that you could potentially use for college admissions. If you are planning to apply Early Decision or Early Action (application deadlines between November 1 and December 15), you have four ACT test dates: April, June, July, and September. You can also sign up for October as well when you sign up for September.

Registration fees for the ACT without writing is $50.50. It includes reports for you, your high school, and up to four colleges (if codes are provided when you register). The fees for the ACT with writing is $67.00.

You can register online by using an ACT web account. It also lets you access a variety of ACT services.

ACT assessment measures high school students general educational development and their capability to complete college-level work with the multiple choice tests covering four skill areas: English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science. These main four sections are individually scored on a scale from a low of 1 to a max score of 36. A composite score which is the rounded whole number average of the four sections is provided.

Prior to 1959, the SAT (the Scholastic Aptitude Test) served as the United States’s only national, standardized college entrance exam. As more students decided to pursue higher education, and universities responded to the demand by opening up more seats, the need for another measurement system emerged.

Every year, more than two million students take the ACT in order to get admissions to the colleges in the United States. The ACT is a standardized test designed to measure your critical thinking skills and to assess your ability to apply knowledge and logic when solving problems.