ACT to offer section retakes, online test in 2020

Taking the ACT college admission standardized test soon will be a little different.

High school students will have an alternative method to improve their ACT test scores starting in September 2020.

After completing the full standardized test, students may retake any of the subsections —reading, math, science, English and writing, which is optional, to receive a new superscore, the organization announced last week.

Each ACT section is graded on a scale of 1-36. The average score of the four required sections creates the composite score.

The composite and any changes from the retake will combine to create the average, or superscore.

ACT recommends colleges use the superscore to determine college admission, according to their website.

The new section retesting method is “intended to give students more choices and provide them with a better testing experience,” ACT Senior Director of Media and Public Relations Ed Colby said in an email.

Students will be able to focus their studies on specific sections instead of retaking the entire test. This could allow students to “showcase their skills and accomplishments gained over a lifetime and not only their test-taking abilities on one particular day,” according to the ACT website.

There will be no limit to the number of times students can retake the full test or subsections. Up to three sections can be completed on any retake day at national test centers in the United States. The retakes will be available by computer, Colby said.

The organization offers seven national test dates at certain test centers on Saturday mornings each year.

There are 338 national test centers in Missouri including Blair Oaks High School, Helias Catholic High School, Thomas Jefferson Middle School and Lincoln University, according to the ACT website.

When the change takes place, national testing centers could see an increase in attendance during certain times of the year, Helias Catholic High School counselor Lacy Ralston said.

December testing dates generally see a higher number of test-takers because of college admission and scholarship deadlines, she said.

Helias plans to inform high school juniors of the changes this year, she said.

If a junior takes the ACT during the 2019-20 school year, he or she would be eligible for the subsection retake in September, she said.

Testing dates for the 2020-21 school year are not currently available.

“I think it’s going to be very helpful to the students that are really working on raising their ACT scores,” Ralston said. “Some students are reluctant to sit for the entire ACT when they’re only looking to improve one area.”

Many students are involved in athletics and extracurricular activities, which can make it difficult to find time to take the test multiple times, she added.

“It’s a mentally taxing test,” Ralston said. “The opportunity to focus on one area is going to be a great opportunity for all students.”

In Missouri, 100 percent of the 2018 graduating class took the ACT, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website. Nearly half took it more than once. The average composite score was 20.8.

About 45 percent of test-takers currently take the ACT multiple times; most only take it twice, Colby said.

ACT: Superscores are better for students

The change could also be a relief for students, said Ivy Hartman, the Missouri Association for College Admission Counseling communications chair. The organization is a nonprofit that works with high school counselors and college admission representatives.

“Sometimes (students) will do really well on the math and science sections but not English and reading or vice versa,” Hartman said. “So I think that’s going to be probably a little bit of stress relief and many of high school students are going to find that appealing.

“But it’s going to impact admissions and scholarships nationwide, not just in Missouri.”

Some colleges and universities have done their own superscoring for students who take the test multiple times.

Lincoln University uses superscoring for math and English placement, process analysis Amanda Woods said.

If a future student has scored less than 18 in those subsections, they would be placed in five credit hour courses with additional lab or resource time, she said.

In 2018, the average scores in Missouri were 19.7 for math, 19.5 for English, 20.5 for reading and 20 for science, according to DESE.

“We’ve always looked at their highest score,” Woods said. “So in that sense, we’ve done the superscore.”

With the superscore changing a student’s composite score, this could open up more opportunities for scholarships and admission for certain programs.

A composite score of 19 is needed for the LU nursing program, Woods said.

“It does sound overall to be a positive change,” she said. “It could change the affordability of the test if it’s not $50 for the subsections.”

LU is open enrollment for Missouri students. The university requires students to take a standardized test; however, it does not require a minimum score.

ACT online testing

The ACT is a competing exam with the SAT, the College Board’s suite of assessments. Both admission tests can be submitted to colleges or universities.

More than 2.2 million students took the SAT in the 2018-19 school year, compared to more than 1.9 million who took the ACT, according to the MOACAC news release.

The SAT allows students to achieve a maximum score of 1,600 in multiple subjects, with an optional essay.

ACT announced, for the first time in its 60-year history, students will have the option to take the test online or in the paper format on national test days at ACT test centers.

Allowing superscores and the online option could be an attempt to get ahead, Hartman said.

“Nationally, more students took the SAT in the school year 2018-19,” she said. “So I think ACT is looking for a way to capture more of the national market.”

The online ACT will be the same format, with 45 minutes for English, 35 minutes for reading, 35 minutes for science, one hour for math and 40 minutes for writing.

The organization will roll out the option in some areas and later expand to all test centers, according to the news release.

Centers that have online testing ability can also offer the retake.

Jefferson City High School Assistant Principal Joe Launchstaedt said the Jefferson City School District will use the online testing in April.

To prepare for the retake, the district will use targeted tutoring for the subsections, Launchstaedt said.

ACT research suggests the format of the test doesn’t have a positive or negative impact on the score, he said.

Online tests allow students to receive results in about two days, compared to two weeks with the paper tests, according to the ACT website.

The ACT has not announced what the cost difference will be. The ACT costs $52 without the writing and $68 with writing.