The English test is a 75-question, 45-minute test that consists of five essays, or passages, each followed by a set of multiple- choice test questions.

• Some questions refer to underlined portions of the passage and offer several alternatives to the underlined portion. You decide which choice is most appropriate in the context of the passage.


• Some questions ask about an underlined portion, a section of the passage, or the passage as a whole. You decide which choice best answers the question posed.


• Many questions offer “NO CHANGE” to the passage as one of the choices.

The mathematics test is a 60-question, 60-minute test designed to assess the mathematical skills students have typically acquired in courses taken up to the beginning of grade 12.
Most questions are self-contained. Some questions may belong to a set of several questions (e.g., each about the same graph or chart).
The material covered on the test emphasizes the major content areas that are prerequisites to successful performance in entry-level courses in college mathematics. Knowledge of basic formulas and computational skills are assumed as background for the problems, but recall of complex formulas and extensive computation are not required.

The reading test is a 40-question, 35-minute test that measures your ability to read closely, reason logically about texts using evidence, and integrate information from multiple sources.
The test questions focus on the mutually supportive skills that readers must bring to bear in studying written materials across a range of subject areas. Specifically, questions will ask you to determine main ideas; locate and interpret significant details; understand sequences of events; make comparisons; comprehend cause-effect relationships; determine the meaning of context-dependent words, phrases, and statements; draw generalizations; analyze the author’s or narrator’s voice and method; analyze claims and evidence in arguments; and integrate information from multiple texts.

The science test is a 40-question, 35-minute test that measures the interpretation, analysis, evaluation, reasoning, and problem-solving skills required in the natural sciences. The test presents several authentic scientific scenarios, each followed by a number of multiple-choice test questions.

If you register for the ACT with writing, you will take the writing test after the four multiple-choice tests. Your score on the writing test will not affect your scores on the multiple-choice tests or your Composite score. The writing test is a 40-minute essay test that measures your writing skills—specifically, writing skills taught in high school English classes and in entry-level college composition courses.