ACT College Admission Examination

Purpose and Uses

Although the ACT is best known for its use as a college admissions examination, it was developed to serve multiple purposes, including counseling and college course placement. The ACT is a curriculum-focused examination, testing student [Page 16]achievement in English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science (with an optional writing component). Grade 7–12 teachers and curriculum specialists in these core areas were surveyed regarding what they teach; the results were used to develop the content specifications of the ACT. To the extent that the content specifications of the ACT match a specific local curriculum, ACT scores can be used to evaluate high school academic programs.

Another component of the ACT is an interest inventory that measures and compares examinee preferences with jobs and academic majors.

History

The ACT was first administered in 1959. Originally, ACT stood for American College Test, but since 1996 it has no longer been an acronym and is just the name of the test, pronounced as the names of the letters: A—C—T.

Test Description

The ACT consists of five sections: English, Mathematics, Reading, Science, and Writing, which is optional. All items, except for the writing essay, are multiple-choice format. The English section consists of 75 items that an examinee has 45 minutes to complete. Items cover punctuation, grammar, usage, sentence structure, and writing strategy, organization, and style.

The Mathematics section consists of 60 items administered in 60 minutes. Topics include pre-algebra (e.g., number operations, ratios and proportions, and elementary probability and statistics), algebra (e.g., using variables to express relationships, solving algebraic equations, using the quadratic formula), coordinate and plane geometry, and trigonometry.

The Reading section consists of 40 questions to be answered in 35 minutes. Passage context includes social studies, natural sciences, prose fiction, and humanities, selected to be typical of those used in first-year college courses. Items focus on determining main ideas, locating and interpreting details, sequencing events, making comparisons, analyzing causal relationships, vocabulary in context, and analysis of the author's style and voice.

The Science test has 40 items administered in 35 minutes. It measures the examinee's scientific reasoning skills in the context of biology, chemistry, physics, geology, astronomy, and meteorology. The test consists of seven sets of graphs, tables, research summaries, or descriptions of conflicting scientific hypotheses, each with a set of about five items. The items require the examinee to understand and analyze the information provided.

The optional Writing measure provides one prompt and allows examinees 30 minutes to write an essay.

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