ACT Exam Guide — Format, Sections, Scoring & Registration

ACT — Exam Guide

The ACT is a college admissions test administered by ACT, Inc., offered at test centers on national test dates and, for many students, through state and district administrations at their own schools. This guide explains the current enhanced ACT exactly as ACT’s published specifications describe it.

Exam format

  • Sections in fixed order: English, Math, Reading, then the optional Science and Writing sections, with one break after Math.
  • English: 50 questions presented in 35 minutes (40 scored) — five passages with editing and revising questions in context.
  • Math: 45 questions presented in 50 minutes (41 scored) — skills through the beginning of grade 12. Every Math question has four answer choices in the enhanced form, and ACT’s calculator policy permits an approved calculator.
  • Reading: 36 questions presented in 40 minutes (27 scored) — four passages (prose fiction / literary narrative, social science, humanities, natural science).
  • Science (optional): 40 questions presented in 40 minutes (34 scored) — data representation, research summaries, and one conflicting-viewpoints passage.
  • Writing (optional): one essay prompt in 40 minutes.
  • Field-test questions: each section embeds presented-but-unscored questions that look like scored ones; core testing time is 125 minutes without Science, 165 minutes with it.

Content domains

  • English — Conventions of Standard English (38–43%), Production of Writing (38–43%), and Knowledge of Language (18–23%).
  • Math — Preparing for Higher Mathematics is about 80% of scored items (Number & Quantity 10–12%, Algebra 17–20%, Functions 17–20%, Geometry 17–20%, Statistics & Probability 12–15%), with Integrating Essential Skills about 20% and Modeling overlaid at 20% or more.
  • Reading — Key Ideas & Details (55–60%), Craft & Structure (about 25–30%), and Integration of Knowledge & Ideas (about 13–18%).
  • Science — Interpretation of Data (about 45%), Scientific Investigation (about 25%), and Evaluation of Models, Inferences & Experimental Results (about 30%).

Scoring

  • Each multiple-choice section is scored on a 1–36 scale. There is no penalty for wrong answers, so no question should be left blank.
  • Composite = the rounded average of English, Math, and Reading only. Science is not in the Composite even when taken; it is reported as its own section score and combines with Math into a STEM score. Writing produces a separate Writing score (2–12) and, with English and Reading, an ELA score.
  • There is no passing score. ACT publishes College Readiness Benchmarks per section (English 18, Math 22, Reading 22, Science 23) — benchmarks indicate readiness for entry-level college coursework; they are not pass marks.
  • ACT’s superscore uses your best English, Math, and Reading section scores across test dates.

Registration and fees

  • Register through ACT at act.org for a national test date and test center, or through your school if it offers a state or district administration. Registration, test dates, fees, and deadlines are set by ACT — confirm the current fee schedule and deadlines on act.org when you register, and note that Science and Writing are optional sections you select at registration.
  • Bring the admission ticket and acceptable photo identification on test day, and arrange any accommodations through ACT in advance if you are eligible.

How PassProfessor practice fits in

Our ACT course gives you 1,500 original practice questions at the enhanced form’s presented section proportions, 17 topic drills — one for every reporting category — and a fixed-form 171-question simulation at the real form’s presented counts and timing (165 minutes). Our presentation (a passage or data set plus an explicit question with four choices) practices the same skills and proportions as the real test without replicating its exact on-screen format. Start with the free sample questions to see how the bank is organized.

The program: ACT Exam Prep gives you the full 1,500-question practice bank for $49 — the complete 171-question timed simulation, topic drills for every reporting category in all four sections, and a free 12-question sample to start. See the full program and enroll.