In an era of rapid standardized test evolution, the ACT has followed the SAT’s lead and adopted a new streamlined format. To interpret this new Enhanced ACT and to look ahead to 2026, Dan Cozzens, COO of Bespoke Education, and ACT expert Sarah Cuneo led a deep dive webinar all about the latest version of the test. The takeaway is clear: while the exam has shed some of its traditional bulk, it remains a formidable challenge that rewards content mastery, research fluency, and mental speed and endurance.
As college admissions become increasingly competitive, with an increased focus on standardized test scores, the Enhanced ACT will give students the opportunity to demonstrate broad content knowledge, attention to detail, and resilience: skills the presenters argued are as vital for life as they are for a high score on the test.
Enhanced ACT Blueprint: Mandatory and Optional Components
The Enhanced ACT retains its multi-section, multiple-choice core and introduces limited flexibility in its requirements.
- Core Mandatory Sections: Every student must complete the first three sections of the test: English, Math, and Reading.
- The Science Pivot: The fourth section, Science, is now technically optional, but Bespoke’s experts strongly recommend students continue to take this section to keep their options open until universities clarify their admission requirements.
- Optional Essay: The fifth section, a written Essay, continues to be truly optional, as most colleges currently place little weight on the essay score.
- Extended Duration: Per current recommendations, the ACT is shorter than it was but remains a test of stamina, lasting over 3 hours with designated breaks: significantly longer than the current SAT.
Technical Details: Test Format & Scoring
Understanding the nuances of the ACT’s scoring is essential for targeting top-tier percentiles.
- Shorter & More Time Per Question: Students now have more time per question on all sections of the Enhanced ACT. This change has made a noticeable difference in the “feel” of taking the test, but students will still encounter pressure to answer every question within the allotted time.
- Pencil & Paper vs. Digital: The Enhanced ACT is now offered in two formats, Pencil & Paper and Digital. Test centers typically offer one test format or the other.
- A Clear Advantage: Experts strongly recommend the Pencil & Paper version of the test. Unlike SAT questions, Enhanced ACT questions are not optimized for the digital format, giving digital test-takers an underperformance “penalty” of 5 to 6 points.
- Composite Scoring: Individual section scores still range from 1 to 36, but the Enhanced ACT Composite, or overall, score is now calculated by averaging only English, Math and Reading (no Science).
- Percentile Benchmarks: A score of 17-18 represents the 50th percentile, while scores of 30 and above place students in the elite top 5% of test-takers.
- Upper-End Volatility: At the highest levels (scores of 30-36), missing even one or two questions can drop a student’s score by one or two points, since each section has fewer graded questions.
- More Real Tests: Because of this score volatility, students should expect to take the real test more times to increase their chances at the highest scores.
English and Math: Content Mastery
The first two sections are defined as “content” domains, requiring a firm grasp of formal rules and Math vocabulary.
- Grammar Fluency: The English section still tests “Standard English Conventions”, so students must be fluent in formal grammar rules and usage. ACT students have to learn or re-learn this content since it is often overlooked in modern high school curricula
- Aesthetics and Argument: The English section prioritizes questions that ask students to improve the quality and the structure of the text. Students must know what the ACT considers to be good writing (e.g. no redundancy & no excess words), and how to structure a passage to achieve an aim.
- Broad and Shallow Math: The Math section covers a wider variety of content areas than the SAT Math—including matrices, imaginary numbers, and sigma notation—but frequently tests them in ways that are not as complicated as the most complex SAT Math questions.
- Memorization and Recall Are Key: Students will be rewarded if they memorize key formulas and principles. If they can recognize what kind of problem they’re working on, they can recall which tools they should try to use to solve it.
- The Time Bank: Students are advised to “bank time” by solving easy ath problems and the English grammar questions in minimal time in order to save time and cognitive energy for the complex questions at the end.
Reading and Science: The Research Mindset
Success in the latter half of the test is less about prior knowledge and more about systematic lookup techniques.
- The Research Sections: The Reading and Science should be viewed as exercises in selecting, searching, and finding, rather than as opportunities for in-depth understanding.
- Read to Summarize, not to Remember Everything: The Reading passages and questions reward fast reading and an iterative approach, with students returning frequently to the passage to check a fact, try a word in context, or find supporting evidence. No literary interpretation allowed.
- Science Reasoning: The Science section is not a test of biology, chemistry, or physics facts. Rather, it is a measure of how well a student can read graphs, identify variables, and follow the logic of experimental design and reasoning.
- The “Magic Finger” of Science: Presenters suggest a physical approach—using your hands and your pencil to support and direct your visual attention and understanding—to maintain focus and accuracy under intense time pressure.
- POE is Key: Sometimes it can be easier for students to eliminate the wrong answers before making their choice. Every answer is wrong for a clear reason, and students can use this fact to work towards the right answer.
Summary and Next Steps
The Enhanced ACT may sound different, but the recent changes are largely cosmetic and the test is still a formidable challenge. But with the time pressure reduced, it is a masterable test, perhaps more so than the SAT. The tried and true components of good test prep—regular focused practice and reflective review—will serve students well. By treating test prep as a long-term skill-building project akin to practicing an instrument or a sport—ideally with an experienced coach who knows the challenges and how to overcome them—students can improve their test performance and their scores by building problem-solving abilities that will resonate far beyond the exam room.
