The following statement about ACT’s announcement on sweeping changes to the ACT test set to begin rolling out in spring 2025 comes from Heather Waite, director of college admissions programs, Kaplan:
“These represent some of the most significant changes to the ACT in its more than 60-year history, with many aspects from its length to content seeing revisions. In general, we think these changes are student-friendly, especially the testing time being cut from three to two hours. The test will include shorter passages on the Reading and English sections and fewer questions in each section – 44 fewer questions in all, allowing test takers more time to thoughtfully answer each question. While the new ACT will still challenge test takers’ time management skills and remain an experience they have to prepare for, it won’t be quite the marathon it has been.
“Another major change to the exam will be the Science section no longer being mandatory. Like the Writing section, which had already gone optional, Science will be offered as a separate section with its own score, meaning that test takers can choose to take the ACT, the ACT plus Science, the ACT plus Writing, or the ACT plus Science and Writing. This additional flexibility allows students to highlight their academic strengths to colleges that they alone decide on. Keep in mind that the test does become longer if you take these additional stand-alone sections.
“These changes come at a time of big developments on the college admissions landscape, including the recent trend of many top colleges and universities — including Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, the University of Texas, and Caltech — to reinstate the standardized test requirement, which they had dropped during the COVID pandemic. And results from Kaplan’s 2023 college admissions officers survey find that these schools will most likely not be alone for long. Of the more than 200 test-optional schools Kaplan surveyed late last year, 15 percent said they are considering reinstating or will definitely reinstate the requirement. The survey also finds that among these same test-optional schools, 67 percent say if a student submits a competitive college admissions exam score, it helps their application.
“Over the next few months, Kaplan will do what it does best whenever there’s a test change of this magnitude: educate students, parents, and high school counselors about what this means for them and revamp our courses to make sure we effectively prepare students for Test Day.”
Contact russell.schaffer@kaplan.com to speak with a college admissions expert.
ACT® is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc. Kaplan is the official partner for live online prep for the ACT.
About Kaplan
Kaplan, Inc. is a global educational services company that helps individuals and institutions advance their goals in an ever-changing world. Our broad portfolio of solutions help students and professionals further their education and careers, universities and educational institutions attract and support students, and businesses maximize employee recruitment, retainment, and development. Stanley Kaplan founded our company in 1938 with a mission to expand educational opportunities for students of all backgrounds. Today, our thousands of employees working in 27 countries/regions continue Stanley’s mission as they serve about 1.2 million students and professionals, 15,000 corporate clients, and 3,300 schools, school districts, colleges, and universities worldwide. Kaplan is a subsidiary of the Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC). Learn more at kaplan.com.
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