Overview
About ACT
The ACT is a standardized undergraduate admissions test used mainly in the United States. It was first administered in 1959, and the name originally stood for American College Testing.
For an Indian student, the ACT is one route into undergraduate study abroad. Four-year colleges and universities across the US accept it and treat it interchangeably with the SAT, and a number of universities outside the US accept it too. There is no fixed eligibility. School students usually sit it in their final years, and each college sets its own score expectation rather than the ACT prescribing a cut-off.
English, Mathematics and Reading are the three required sections, and together they produce the composite score. English covers grammar, usage and rhetoric. Mathematics draws on skills through the start of grade 12, including algebra, geometry and trigonometry. Reading tests close reading and reasoning across passages. Two more sections, Science and Writing, are optional and do not affect the composite.
Candidates take it either on paper or online at a test centre. Each required section is scored from 1 to 36, and the composite is the average of those scores rounded to the nearest whole number.
Sources: The ACT Test for Students – ACT (official) · What's on the ACT Test? Exam Sections & Structure – ACT (official) · ACT (test) – Wikipedia
At a glance
ACT highlights
Every figure traces to an official source.
| Full name | ACT (American College Testing) |
| Conducting body | ACT Education Corp (formerly ACT, Inc.) |
| Level | UG |
| Mode of exam | On paper or online at a test centre |
| Frequency | Multiple national test dates per year per year |
| Scope | International |
| Sections | English (35 min), Math (50 min), Reading (40 min); Science and Writing are optional and do not affect the Composite |
| Marking scheme | Each section scored 1-36; Composite is the average of the required sections (1-36). Optional Science and Writing reported separately. |
Deep dives
Everything you need to know
Eligibility
- ·No fixed eligibility; an undergraduate admissions test (typically taken by high-school students). Colleges set their own score requirements.
Exam pattern
- ·Sections: English (35 min), Math (50 min), Reading (40 min); Science and Writing are optional and do not affect the Composite
- ·36 total marks
- ·Marking: Each section scored 1-36; Composite is the average of the required sections (1-36). Optional Science and Writing reported separately.
Syllabus
- ·English (grammar, usage, rhetoric), Mathematics (algebra, geometry, trigonometry), Reading comprehension; optional Science (data/experiment analysis) and Writing (essay).
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