For nearly the last 18 months, the College Board has dominated the conversation about standardized testing changes with news about the Redesigned SAT launching in March 2016.  But did you know that ACT, Inc. has been phasing in changes of its own?  While some of these changes are for the benefit of data collection and are fairly insignificant from a test-taking perspective, one major change is the essay—it has been completely overhauled and will debut in its new format during the September 12, 2015 test administration.

Let’s take look at these changes and talk about what you need to know if you're preparing for the ACT. We’ll examine these changes in order of significance, first discussing the biggest change (the essay) and ending our post by touching on the newly formatted score report.

Writing (Essay) Test

Let’s start with the most significant change—the Writing (essay) test.  The Writing test will continue to be an optional component of the ACT, and it's likely that the same colleges that require or recommend the Writing test today will continue to do so after September 12.  If you plan to take ACT Writing (i.e. if you plan to apply to competitive colleges), read on.  Otherwise, skip to the Reading Test changes.

The Prompt

Until June, the ACT Writing prompt posed an “either-or” issue related to the interests and experiences of high school students (for example, should high school students be required to complete a certain number of community service hours as a prerequisite to graduation?). You could take yes, no, or in-between position on the prompt, using examples from your studies or your own personal experience to support your position.

Beginning on September 12, the ACT Writing prompt will present three differing perspectives on a complex issue (for example, balancing public health and individual freedoms to engage in behaviors such as smoking) and, in their words, ask you to:

• analyze and evaluate the perspectives given
• state and develop your own perspective on the issue
• explain the relationship between your perspective and those given

Take a look at a full sample prompt

How It’s Graded

Two graders will score your essay along the following four domains:

• Ideas and Analysis
• Development and Support
• Organization
• Language Use

Take a look at the new ACT Writing Test Scoring Rubric to see the exact criteria on which you’re being evaluated.

Now that you know a little bit about the new essay prompt and how your response will be graded, let’s take a look at how you can maximize your score.

Formula for Structural Success

The overall structure of your essay should follow the argumentative style and include an introduction, 3-4 body paragraphs arranged in a logical sequence, and a conclusion. Here’s one formula for your structure that will ensure you fulfill the expectations delineated in the prompt:

Introduction

Use your introductory paragraph to (i) briefly state the three perspectives provided in the prompt and (ii) make your thesis statement (in other words, state your own stance on the issue).

Body Paragraphs

Body Paragraph 1: Analyze and evaluate one perspective you disagreed with. (You can refer to the perspectives as “Perspective One,” “Perspective Two,” and Perspective Three.”)

Body Paragraph 2: Analyze and evaluate the second perspective you disagreed with. Note: You can combine your analysis of the first and second perspectives into a single body paragraph if doing so results in better flow.

Body Paragraphs 3-4: You should adopt one of the prompt’s three perspectives as your own stance and then analyze and evaluate that perspective in even greater depth than those you disagreed with. You may need to use up to two paragraphs to accommodate your analysis and support. Cite 2-3 detailed examples that provide evidence to support your thesis.

Note: You are allowed to develop your own entirely different perspective, but we suggest you choose one of the three given perspectives to keep things simple.

Conclusion

Summarize your argument, reviewing your main points and making the final argument for your stance (2-3 sentences).

Other Considerations

Examples & Evidence

As with the previous version of the ACT essay, you can use examples from your own experience, observations, and knowledge, as well as history, current events, or literature. Make sure your examples are detailed and concrete, and that they clearly connect to your thesis statement.

Language & Vocabulary

Use expressive and assertive language. Stay away from phrases such as “I think,” “In my opinion,” or “I feel.” Use rich vocabulary, but don't continuously force fancy vocabularly just for the sake of sounding sophisticated—and don't use big words if you’re not sure about their meaning.

Reading Test

Historically, the ACT Reading test has featured four distinct passages, each followed by a corresponding set of reading comprehension questions. More recently, in addition to two other distinct passages, the ACT has begun integrating a set of two shorter, related passages, followed by a set of questions based on both passages—this format requires the student to integrate ideas and analysis across two passages instead of just one.

So far, ACT has released only one practice test (the 2015/16 ACT Practice Test - see page 36) reflecting the “paired passage” Reading test.

Note that the concept of the “paired passage” is featured in the Existing SAT (Critical Reading section) and is scheduled to be included as part of the Redesigned SAT (Reading test).

Download the 2015/16 SAT & ACT Comparison Chart to learn how the Existing SAT, ACT, and Redesigned SAT differ along key dimensions.

Science Test

Historically, the Science section of each ACT administration featured the exact same breakdown of passage types and questions per passage:

• 3 Data Representation passages, each with 5 questions
• 3 Research Summaries passages, each with 6 questions
• 1 Conflicting Viewpoints passage with 7 questions

Now, however, both the quantity of each passage type and the number of questions included in each passage are more fluid and can vary from test to test as follows:

For example, the 2015/16 ACT Practice Test includes:

• 2 Data Representation passages, one with 6 questions and one with 7 questions
• 3 Research Summaries passages, one with 7 questions, one with 6 questions, and the final with 7 questions
• 1 Conflicting Viewpoints passage with 7 questions

Note that the total number of Science questions from test to test is still 40. The implication of this change is that you should avoid going into the test with exact timing targets on a “per passage” or “per type of passage” basis, as the number of passages by type and questions per passage are subject to fluctuation from test to test.  Otherwise, the content and strategy of the Science test are basically the same.

Math Test

Current ACT administrations may feature a slight increase in the number of problems representing statistics/probability relative to the practice tests published in the ACT's own prep book, but the ACT Math test still contains the same total number of questions (60).

Score Reporting

Starting with the September 12, 2015, ACT administration, score reports will include a few new line items. You can learn more about the enhanced score reporting here. It remains to be seen whether colleges will pay attention to these scores, which are merely different ways of slicing and dicing the same student performance data.

Now that you know what’s new on the ACT, experience these changes for yourself in a no-stakes environment.  If you're a student in Anchorage or the Mat-Su Valley, take a free, full-length practice ACT, where you'll get to practice responding to—and receive a score on—a new-style ACT Writing prompt.

And if you haven't yet determined whether you should focus your study efforts on the ACT, Existing SAT, or Redesigned SAT, check out our step-by-step guidance in The Ultimate Guide to Designing Your SAT/ACT Prep Strategy.

Additional Resources

The Redesigned SAT: What 11th & 12th Graders Should Know (And Do)

Take a free practice SAT/ACT

SAT & ACT Prep Programs