ACT (EXAMINATION)

The 'ACT' test is a standardized achievement examination for college admissions in the United States produced by ACT, Inc. About ACT: History Name changed in 1996. It was first administered in Fall 1959 as a competitor to the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test, now the SAT Reasoning Test. Some students who perform poorly on the SAT find that they perform better on the ACT and vice versa.^[1] In February 2005, an optional writing test was added to the ACT, mirroring changes to the SAT later that year. All four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. accept the ACT^[2] but different institutions place different emphasis on standardized tests such as the ACT, compared to other factors of evaluation such as class rank, G.P.A., and extracurricular activities.

Contents

ACT, Inc.

Function

Use

Format

English

Math

Reading

Test availability

Score percentiles

Score comparison with SAT

References

See also

External links

ACT, Inc.

ACT, Inc. was originally known as the 'American College Testing Program', Inc. In 2002 the company was restructured to include "Education" and "Workforce Development" divisions, each overseen by its own advisory board. Each state also has its own state organization, and the entire company is overseen by a Board of Directors made up of 14 members.
In 2005 the company established ACT International. This organization is composed of ACT Education Solutions, Limited, and ACT Business Solutions, B.V. ''ACT Education Solutions'' is directed toward helping non-native speakers learn English in preparation for studying at an English-speaking educational institution. ''ACT Business Solutions'' attempts to help employers assess their employees' level of English proficiency through use of the WorkKeys assessment.

Function

ACT, Inc. says that The ACT^® assessment measures high school students' general educational development and their capability to complete college-level work with the multiple-choice tests covering four skill areas: English, mathematics, reading, and science. The optional Writing Test measures skill in planning and writing a short essay.^[3]
Colleges use The ACT and the SAT Reasoning Test because there are substantial differences in funding, curricula, grading, and difficulty among U.S. secondary schools due to American federalism, local control, and the prevalence of private, distance, and home schooled students. ACT/SAT scores are used to supplement the secondary school record and help admission officers put local data — such as course work, grades, and class rank — in a national perspective.

Use

Map of states according to preferred exam of 2006 high school graduates. States in blue had more students taking the ACT than the SAT.

The ACT is more widely used in the Midwestern and Southern United States, while the SAT is more popular on the east and west coasts, although recently the ACT has been gaining more use on the East Coast. ACT Scores Improve; More on East Coast Taking the SAT's Rival, , Vaishali, Honawar, Education Week, Use of the ACT by colleges has risen as a result of various criticisms of the effectiveness and fairness of the SAT.
In three states, Colorado, Illinois, and Michigan, the ACT is administered to all high school juniors as a standard to measure schools and the students; in 2008, Kentucky will join the list.

Format

The required portion of the ACT is divided into four multiple choice subject tests: English, reading, mathematics, and science reasoning and are always in that order. Subject test scores range from 1 to 36; all scores are natural numbers. The English, mathematics, and reading tests also have subscores ranging from 1 to 18. (The subject score is not the sum of the subscores.) The "composite score" is the average of all four tests. In addition, students taking the writing test receive a writing score ranging from 2 to 12, a "combined English/writing score" ranging from 1 to 36 (based on the writing score and English score), and one to four comments on the essay from the essay scorers. The writing score does not affect the composite score. Sometimes the test includes an experimental section that may be a short version of any of the four major sections. The experimental section is used to normalize questions for future administrations of the ACT and does not count toward the final score. The experimental section is most often found on the June offering.

English

The first section is the 45 minute English test covering usage/mechanics and rhetorical skills. The 75 question test consists of a few passages with various sections underlined on one side of the page and options to correct the underlined portions on the other side of the page. The are also a few questions asking about the order of sentences in a paragraph and paragraphs in a passage and the author's tone in a section of text.

Math

The second section is the 60 minute, 60 question math test covering pre-algebra, elementary algebra, intermediate algebra, Plane geometry, coordinate geometry, and elementary trigonometry . Calculators are permitted in this section only. The calculator requirements are stricter than the SAT's in that computer algebra systems are not allowed; however the ACT permits calculators with paper tapes, that make noise, that have wireless capabilities, and that have power cords with certified "modifications" (disabling the above features), which the SAT does not allow.^[4] This is the only section that has five instead of four answer choices.

Reading

The reading section measures reading comprehension in four passages concerning one each prose fiction, social science, humanities and natural science, in that order.
The chart below summarizes each section and the average test score based on graduating high school seniors in 2006.^[5] ACT High School Profile Report: The Graduating Class of 2006: National

Section	Questions	Time (Minutes)	Average Score	Content
English	75	45	20.6	usage/mechanics and rhetorical skills
Mathematics	60	60	20.8	pre-algebra, elementary algebra, intermediate algebra, coordinate geometry, geometry, and elementary trigonometry
Reading	40	35	21.4	reading comprehension
Science	40	35	20.9	interpretation, analysis, evaluation, reasoning, and problem-solving
Optional Writing Test	1 essay prompt	30	7.7	writing skills

Test availability

The ACT is offered four to six times a year, depending on the state, in the United States, in September, October, December, February, April and June and is always on a Saturday.
Candidates may choose either the ACT assessment, ($30), or the ACT assessment plus writing, ($44.50).
Candidates whose religious beliefs prevent them from taking the test on a Saturday may request to take the test on the following Sunday. Such requests must be made at the time of registration and are subject to denial.
Students with verifiable disabilities, including physical and learning disabilities, are eligible to take the exam with accommodations. The standard time increase for students requiring additional time due to learning disabilities is 50%.^[6]
Scores are sent to the student, his or her high school, and up to six colleges. ^[7] If the High School is left blank, the score will be sent to the student.^[1]

Score percentiles

Of the graduating high school class of 2006, there were 1,206,455 students who took the ACT; this comprises 40% of the graduating class.^[9] The average composite score was a 21.1. Of these test-takers, 517,563 (or 42.9%) were males, 646,688 (or 53.6%) were females, and 42,204 (or 3.5%) did not report a gender. Nationwide, 216 students who reported that they would graduate in 2006 received the highest ACT composite score of 36.^[10] Males on average scored one fifth (.2) of a point higher on the ACT than females. Only one out of about every 5,500 test takers will receive a perfect score (a 36). This is the 99.98 percentile.

Average distribution of ACT scores

The percentiles for various ACT composite scores for 'ALL' seniors (rather than college-bound) taking the ACT in 2006 correspond to are summarized in the following chart.

Percentile	Scores (Out of 36, 2006)
99+	34-36
99	32-33
98	31
97	30
95	29
92	28
89	27
86	26
81	25
76	24
70	23
63	22
56	21
48	20
40	19
33	18
25	17
19	16
13	15
8	14
5	13
2	12
1	1-11

Score comparison with SAT

Although there is no official conversion chart, the College Board, who administers the SAT, released an unofficial chart based on results from 103,525 test takers who took both tests between October 1994 and December 1996 here. Several colleges have also issued their own charts. The following is based on the University of California's conversion chart.^[11]

SAT (Prior to Writing Test Addition)	SAT (With Writing Test Addition)	ACT Composite Score
1600	2400	36
1560-1590	2340-2390	35
1520-1550	2280-2330	34
1480-1510	2220-2270	33
1440-1470	2160-2210	32
1400-1430	2100-2150	31
1360-1390	2040-2090	30
1320-1350	1980-2030	29
1280-1310	1920-1970	28
1240-1270	1860-1910	27
1200-1230	1800-1850	26
1160-1190	1740-1790	25
1120-1150	1680-1730	24
1080-1110	1620-1670	23
1040-1070	1560-1610	22
1000-1030	1500-1550	21
960-990	1440-1490	20
920-950	1380-1430	19
880-910	1320-1370	18
840-870	1260-1310	17
800-830	1200-1250	16
760-790	1140-1190	15
720-750	1080-1130	14
680-710	1020-1070	13
640-670	960-1010	12
600-630	900-950	11

References

1. Cracking The ACT, , , , The Princeton Review, ,
2. All four-year U.S. colleges now accept ACT test Mary Beth Marklein
3. The Test. (URL accessed June 05, 2007).
4. ACT FAQ: Can I use a calculator?
5. ACT Test Prep:Description of the ACT Assessment
6. ACT Services for Students with Disabilities. accessdate=September 8
7. ACT Score Information: ACT Score Report Descriptions
8. Cracking The ACT, , , , The Princeton Review, ,
9. ACT National and State Scores for 2006: 2006 Average ACT Scores by State
10. 2006 ACT High School Profile Report. (URL accessed September 26, 2006).
11. University of California Scholarship Requirement. (URL accessed June 26, 2006).

See also

★ List of admissions tests

★ PLAN (examination)

★ SAT

External links

★ ACT Test Taker's Site

★ ACT Corporate Site