• Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education (1985).
• Code of Professional Responsibilities in Educational Measurement
• , National Council on Measurement in Education (1995).
• Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education, Joint Committee on Testing Practices (1988).

• The ACT is an achievement test, measuring what a student has learned in school. The SAT is more of an aptitude test, testing reasoning and verbal abilities.
• The ACT has up to 5 components: English, Mathematics, Reading, Science, and an optional Writing Test. The SAT has only 3 components: Verbal, Mathematics, and a required Writing Test.
• The College Board introduced a new version in 2005, with a mandatory writing test. ACT continues to offer its well-established test, plus an optional writing test. You take the ACT Writing Test only if required by the college(s) you're applying to.
• The SAT has a correction for guessing. That is, they take off for wrong answers. The ACT is scored based on the number correct with no correction for guessing.
• ACT lets the student decide what set of scores they want sent. The College Board's policy is to send all scores.
• The ACT has an interest inventory that allows students to evaluate their interests in various career options.

• The SAT is preferred on the coasts, while the ACT is more often used in the Midwest. However, each school has its own policies, and many schools accept both exams. You should check with every school to which you're considering applying.
• The ACT has a Science section. If you hate science, this is a potential reason to avoid the ACT. However, you should realize that the Science section of the ACT tests reasoning skills and not actual science knowledge.
• The essay is required on the SAT, but optional on the ACT. More importantly, the essay factors into your overall SAT score but not your composite ACT score.
• There is no penalty for wrong answers on the ACT. However, this shouldn't affect your decision about which test to take.
• All your SAT scores show up on every SAT report, but you can send only the ACT scores you want. So it's easier to hide bad ACT scores. However, most schools claim to look at only your highest score on a particular test. The biggest ramification of this difference is probably that it's harder to hide taking the SAT many times.
• While the College Board would deny it, the SAT tends to work slightly more like an IQ test than does the ACT. The subject matter is no more advanced, but math is trickier and grammar concepts are harder to pin down. So at least marginally, good test-takers do better on the SAT while good students (including "grinders") do better on the ACT.

• You've probably completed the coursework corresponding to the test material.
• You'll have your test scores and other information in time to influence your senior year. (For example, you may decide to take an additional class in an area in which your test score was low.)
• Colleges will know of your interests and have your scores in time to contact you during the summer before your senior year, when many of them are sending information about admissions, course placement, scholarships, and special programs to prospective students.
• You'll have information about yourself and the schools you're interested in prior to your campus visits, making your visits more focused.
• You'll have the opportunity to retest if you feel your scores don't accurately reflect your ability. ACT research shows that of the students who took the ACT more than once:
  • 55% increased their Composite score
  • 22% had no change in their Composite score
  • 23% decreased their Composite score

• You may not receive scores from more than one test date per national or international administration (Saturday, non-Saturday, or rescheduled test date arranged by ACT). If you are admitted and allowed to test, we will report only the scores from your first administration. The second set of scores will be cancelled without refund.
• You may not receive scores from more than one test date per state administration (initial or makeup), if your state participates in ACT State Testing. If you are allowed to test more than once, we will report only the scores from your first test administration.
• If you test through another type of testing such as special or residual testing, you must wait a minimum of 60 days between retests through that kind of testing. If you are allowed to test without waiting 60 days, your second set of scores will be cancelled without refund.

• Your test center admission ticket.
• Acceptable identification. (Your admission ticket is not identification.) You will not be admitted to test without acceptable identification.
• Sharpened soft lead No. 2 pencils with good erasers (no mechanical pencils or ink pens). Do not bring highlight pens or any other kinds of writing instruments; you will not be allowed to use them. If you have registered for the ACT Plus Writing, your essay must be completed in pencil.
• A watch, to pace yourself. The supervisor in standard time rooms will announce when five minutes remain on each test.
• A permitted calculator, if you wish to use one on the Mathematics Test. Not all models are permitted.

• Current (not expired) official photo ID: Must be issued by your school, employer, or city/state/federal government (such as driver's license or passport) on which both your name and photo appear.
• Recently published individual photo: Recognizable individual photograph of you in a recent (within the last two years) publication, such as a newspaper or school yearbook, with your first and last names in the caption. All but yearbooks will be sent to us for our files. Group photos are not acceptable.
• School letter or transcript: Letters must meet all of the following requirements:
  
  
  • The letter must be on school letterhead and include your name and physical description including age, gender, height, race, and hair and eye color, or an attached recognizable recent photo with school seal or official's signature across a portion of the photo.
  • Form letters reproduced on school letterhead and then individually completed and signed in ink are acceptable.
  • If school letterhead is computer-generated or photocopied, a school seal is required.
  • Transcripts may be used only if they include a recent photo as described above and are signed as described below.
  • You must sign the letter or transcript in ink in the presence of the school official (who may not be a relative), and that official also must personally sign the letter or transcript in ink. Printed, stamped, or photocopied signatures are not acceptable.
  
  
• Notarized statement with photo: If you do not have acceptable photo ID or your school does not have letterhead stationery, contact a notary public (who must not be a relative). Attach a current photo of yourself to a sworn statement that includes your name. You must sign this statement in ink in the presence of the notary public, who must affix the notary seal or stamp to a portion of the photo.

• ACT admission ticket
• Learner's driving permit, if it doesn't include a photo
• Passport or other photo so old that the person presenting it cannot be identified
• Charge, bank, check cashing, or credit cards with or without photo
• Photo ID issued by a business for promotional purposes (e.g., amusement parks)
• Birth certificate
• Social Security card
• Report card or diploma
• Organization membership card
• Police report of a stolen purse or wallet
• Traffic ticket, even with a physical description and signature
• Photo ID of parents
• Graduation picture or family portrait
• Fishing or hunting license
• ChildFind ID card
• Web page with photo
• Photo with student's name embossed or printed on the photo by a photographer

• 55% increased their Composite score on the retest
• 22% had no change in their Composite score on the retest
• 23% decreased their Composite score on the retest

• Texas Instruments: all model numbers that begin with TI-89 and TI-92, and the TI-Nspire CAS-The TI-Nspire (non-CAS) is permitted.
• Hewlett-Packard: hp 48GII and all model numbers that begin with hp 40G, hp 49G, or hp 50G
• Casio: Algebra fx 2.0, ClassPad 300, and all model numbers that begin with CFX-9970G
• calculators with built-in computer algebra systems
• pocket organizers
• handheld or laptop computers
• electronic writing pads or pen-input devices-The Sharp EL 9600 is permitted.
• calculators built into cell phones or other electronic communication devices
• calculators with a typewriter keypad (keys in QWERTY format)-Calculators with letter keys not in QWERTY format are permitted.

• calculators with paper tape-Remove the tape.
• calculators that make noise-Turn off the sound.
• calculators that can communicate wirelessly with other calculators-Completely cover the infrared data port with heavy opaque material, such as duct tape or electrician's tape (includes Hewlett-Packard hp-38G series and hp-48G)
• calculators that have power cords-Remove all power/electrical cords.

English:	75 questions - 45 minutes
Mathematics:	60 questions - 60 minutes
Reading:	40 questions - 35 minutes
Science:	40 questions - 35 minutes
Total:	215 questions
Writing:	1 prompt - 30 minutes

• Carefully read the instructions on the cover of the test booklet.
• Read the directions for each test carefully.
• Read each question carefully.
• Pace yourself-don't spend too much time on a single passage or question.
• Pay attention to the announcement of five minutes remaining on each test.
• Use a soft lead No. 2 pencil with a good eraser; do not use a mechanical pencil, ink pen or correction fluid.
• Answer the easy questions first, then go back and answer the more difficult ones.
• On difficult questions, eliminate as many incorrect answers as you can, then make an educated guess among those remaining.
• Answer every question. Your scores on the multiple-choice tests are based on the number of questions you answer correctly. There is no penalty for guessing.
• Review your work. If you finish a test before time is called, go back and check your work.
• Mark your answers neatly. Erase any mark completely and cleanly without smudging.
• Do not mark or alter any ovals on a test or continue writing the essay after time has been called or you will be dismissed and your answer document will not be scored.
• If you are taking the Writing Test, see the Writing Test tips.

1. First we count the number of questions on each test that you answered correctly. We do not deduct any points for incorrect answers.
2. Then we convert your raw scores (number of correct answers) to "scale scores." Scale scores have the same meaning for all the different versions of the ACT offered on different test dates.
3. Your Composite score and each test score (English, Mathematics, Reading, Science) range from 1 (low) to 36 (high). The Composite Score is the average of your four test scores, rounded to the nearest whole number.
4. We compute your seven subscores (Usage/Mechanics, Rhetorical Skills, etc.) in the same way, but subscores range from 1 (low) to 18 (high). There is no direct, arithmetic relationship between subscores and test score-this means your subscores usually won't add up to your test score.

1. First we count the number of questions on each test that you answered correctly. We do not deduct any points for incorrect answers.
2. Then we convert your raw scores (number of correct answers) to "scale scores." Scale scores have the same meaning for all the different versions of the ACT offered on different test dates.
3. Your Composite score and each test score (English, Mathematics, Reading, Science) range from 1 (low) to 36 (high). The Composite Score is the average of your four test scores, rounded to the nearest whole number.
4. We compute your seven subscores
   (Usage/Mechanics, Rhetorical Skills, etc.) in the same way, but subscores range from 1 (low) to 18 (high). There is no direct, arithmetic relationship between subscores and test score-this means your subscores usually won't add up to your test score. Relationship between the tests, questions, and subscores