What Are the Big Changes to the ACT?

Changes are coming to the ACT in 2015. The ACT is the leading college readiness assessment in the United States. The College Board, administrators of the SAT, the other major college readiness test, recently announced a major overhaul beginning in 2016. The ACT changes are less dramatic than the SAT’s, but no less significant. Below are some of the changes you can expect.

New supplemental scores will be added to give educators, parents and students more details about academic and skill levels. New indicators include:

STEM Score: The ACT is currently the only college readiness exam that measures science skills. This new score represents a student’s combined performance on the math and science sections of the test. The STEM indicator will outline strengths and perhaps indicate career paths that students may not have considered otherwise.

Progress Toward Career Readiness Indicator: This assessment is designed to measure progress toward career readiness, giving students and educators a guideline for success in a variety of career paths.

English Language Arts Score: This score combines English, reading and writing scores and enables students to view how their performance compares to other college-ready students.

Text Complexity Progress Indicator: This indicator measures student progress in understanding the complex text they will encounter as they go through college and professional life. The indicator is designed to help students plan study areas to improve text complexity skills before entering college.

Enhanced Writing Scores

Enhanced scores and a new approach to the optional Writing Test will offer insights and assessments that indicate where students excel and where more work is needed. Essays will be evaluated using four writing competency domains: development and support, organization, ideas and analysis and language use. Analytical ability and complex comprehension will be assessed.

Computer-Based Testing

Beginning in 2015, select schools will offer a computer-based ACT test that includes optional constructed-response questions. The computer-based program was successfully tested in April of 2014 and will likely become more widely available as time goes on.

Preparing for the ACT

Overall, the ACT test itself will change little. The new indicators and scores are designed as supplemental tools to help students, parents and teachers navigate a future course of study, deal with inconsistencies and open new career path considerations. According to Jon Erickson, ACT president of education and career solutions, “These research- and evidence-based enhancements are designed to keep our products relevant and helpful.” He continues, “They will be introduced gradually and thoughtfully, so our customers don’t experience radical changes.“

Why You Shouldn’t Settle for a Low ACT Score

Standardized tests, such as the ACT and SAT, have recently come under scrutiny. According to some, standardized test scores are not predictors of collegiate academic success and emphasis on scores is, as Leon Botstein, president of Bard College stated about the SAT, “a bizarre relic of long outdated 20th century social scientific assumptions and strategies.” If you’re a student who has a low ACT score or not yet taken the test, you may be asking yourself if getting a high ACT score is still important. Let’s look at the facts.

The Times Are Changing

The 2008 economic recession changed the way college admissions officials looked at applicants. In a trend that continues because of ongoing budget cuts, officials look for ways to single out and accept only those students with the best chance of success. ACT scores play a substantive role in the decision-making process. In other words, a higher ACT score is often the difference between getting into the school of your choice and not making the grade.

Moshe Ohayon, founder of Bad Test Takers, an innovative program designed to help students get higher ACT scores, points out another significant benefit that comes from achieving a high ACT score—lower college costs. The price of college soared to close to $60,000 this year, nearly triple the amount of 30 years ago. Most students graduate from college with a debt of approximately $29,000. Students with high ACT scores, however, are eligible for merit-based scholarships that pay for much, if not all, of their tuition costs. Scholarships vary by state, but an ACT composite score of 32-36, along with a minimum required GPA, often results in little or no out-of-pocket or loan-based tuition.

Are the Criticisms Warranted?

Much of the criticism about standardized college entrance exams is geared toward the SAT. The SAT is the oldest college entrance exam and was originally an IQ test. The College Board, SAT test administrators, recently announced a completely redesigned test that will make its debut in 2016. The ACT, on the other hand, is an achievement test designed to measure knowledge.

A 2011 National Bureau of Economic Research found that the ACT English and Math sections were, in fact, accurate college success predictors. Another study, conducted by researchers at Michigan State University, followed 3,000 college students and found that a high ACT score directly correlated with a cumulative GPA in the top half. High scores also accurately predicted graduation success rates.

Clearly, earning a high ACT score is essential, not only when it comes to getting into college, but also for reducing the massive costs. If you have a low score or are getting ready to take the test for the first time, consider the ACT for Bad Test Takers program. Armed with the right approach, you don’t have to settle for a low ACT score.