ACT Test – General Information

The ACT is an acronym used for American College Testing, which is a computer-adaptive standardized test in four major curriculum areas: English, Mathematics, Reading, Writing, and Science Reasoning. The test is globally monitored by ACT International. The purpose of the test is to measure general educational development of the high school students and their capability to complete college-level work the multiple choice ACT tests. Generally, the test is accepted by all four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. as one of the selection criteria to predict academic performance in higher education programs or in any other graduate programs.

Brief History of ACT

In November 1959, Everett Franklin Lindquist first administered ACT as a competitor to the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Historically, the test consisted of four tests, i.e. English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science Reasoning. However, an optional Writing test was added to the ACT in February 2005. The objective of this test is to help colleges and universities in selecting qualified applicants.

ACT Test Format

Description of the Test

The ACT exam is a curriculum based test. Therefore, the test mainly comprises of five sections that are briefly explained as follows

1.      English Section

This section last 45 minutes and consists of 5 passages of non-fiction prose. Each passage contains 15 questions, making the total of 75 questions. Questions in this section focus not only on rhetorical skills such as strategy, style, organization, transitions, but also on usage and mechanics issues such as apostrophes, commas, the colons, misplaced or dangling modifiers, and fragments and run-ons.
2.      Mathematics Section
This section contains 60 questions and it lasts 60 minutes. It covers pre-algebra, elementary algebra, intermediate algebra, coordinate geometry, plane geometry, and trigonometry. It tests:

• The knowledge of the basic facts and skills taught in many high schools Mathematics programs.
• The knowledge of basic arithmetic, elementary algebra, and basic geometry.
• The understanding of basic mathematical ideas and concepts.

3.      Science Reasoning Section
This section includes seven passages each followed by five to seven questions. There are three Data Presentation passages that may contain graphs, charts, tables, or diagrams. It also includes three Research Summary passages that consist of descriptions of experimental studies and their results, and one Conflicting Viewpoints passage that needs presentation of contradictory theories or hypotheses relating to a particular scientific question.

The section contains 40 questions, and it lasts 35 minutes.
4.      Reading Section
This section includes four passages that are taken and edited from books and magazines. One of them is a fictional narrative, whereas others are nonfiction discussion of topics from various fields such as the Natural Science, Social Science, and the Humanities.

i)        Natural Science includes subjects like Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and the Physical Sciences.

ii)      Social Science includes subjects like History, Economics, Psychology, Political Science, and Anthropology.

iii)    Humanities include subjects like Art, Music, Architecture, Dance, etc.

The section contains 40 questions and it lasts 35 minutes.
5.      Writing Section (Optional)
This optional section is always administered at the end of the test and lasts 30 minutes. It has one essay prompt and it tests your writing skills. This section has no effect on the overall composite score; instead a separate Writing score is created to show obtained score.

Although this section is optional, however, many colleges and universities require an essay score in the admissions decision. Thus, if you complete this section, you will surely get higher edge over other applicants.

Since the ACT is curriculum-based, which contains the questions that are directly related to what students have learned in their high school courses in English, Mathematics, and Science, therefore, a number of colleges require that the applicants take the ACT Test.