What Are the Enhanced ACT Changes? New Format, Optional Science, and Scoring Explained

What Are the Enhanced ACT Changes?

The enhanced ACT changes come down to a shorter, three-section core test: 131 questions in 2 hours 5 minutes covering English, Math, and Reading, down from 215 questions in 2 hours 55 minutes. Science is now an optional 40-question add-on that no longer counts toward the Composite, which is simply the rounded average of your English, Math, and Reading scores. Math questions also dropped from five answer choices to four, every section gives you more time per question, and the 1-36 scale is unchanged.

The transition is complete for the current cycle. The enhanced format launched for national online testing in April 2025, covered every national test date - paper and online - by September 2025, and reached state and district school-day testing in spring 2026. If you are registering for the ACT now, you are taking the enhanced version, and any prep plan built for the classic format needs updating. Both paper and online delivery continue at national test centers, so that choice is still yours.

• •Core test: English, Math, and Reading - 131 questions in 125 minutes, versus 215 questions in 175 minutes on the classic ACT.
• •Science is optional: 40 questions in 40 minutes, reported separately, excluded from the Composite.
• •Composite = rounded average of English, Math, and Reading; the 1-36 scale and benchmarks are unchanged.
• •Math questions now have 4 answer choices instead of 5, and every section gives more time per question.

How Is the Enhanced ACT Format Different From the Classic ACT?

Every section got restructured, per ACT's official comparison of the legacy and enhanced tests. English dropped from 75 questions in 45 minutes to 50 questions in 35 minutes, with fewer and shorter passages. Math went from 60 questions in 60 minutes to 45 questions in 50 minutes and cut the answer choices from five to four. Reading fell from 40 questions to 36 but gained time, moving from 35 minutes to 40.

Add it up and the core test runs 131 questions in 125 minutes instead of 215 questions in 175 minutes - 84 fewer questions and 50 fewer minutes of testing (ACT's own "44 fewer questions" figure compares the classic test to the enhanced test with Science added). One detail worth knowing: the 131 questions include embedded field-test items that do not count toward your score - roughly 23 across the core (about 10 in English, 4 in Math, 9 in Reading), per ACT's published field-test percentages. ACT does not tell you which ones they are, so treat every question as live.

The practical effect is more time per question everywhere. Computed from ACT's published question counts, Math moves from 60 seconds per question to about 67, Reading from about 52 to 67, and English from 36 to 42. That is a real pacing change: the classic ACT punished slow readers harder than almost any other admissions test, and the enhanced version deliberately eases that pressure.

None of this changes what the test measures. The content domains, the 1-36 section scores, and the college-readiness benchmarks all carry over - the standards colleges and states use to flag readiness are the same ones that applied to classic scores. If you want a sense of how demanding the test itself remains, see the guide to how hard the ACT is, or start with the ACT exam overview.

When Did the Enhanced ACT Roll Out?

ACT phased the new format in over about a year. Per ACT's enhanced ACT FAQs, the enhanced test debuted for national online Saturday testing in April 2025, the last classic-format national dates ran in July 2025, and from September 2025 every national administration - paper and online - used the enhanced format. State and district school-day testing followed in spring 2026, in both paper and online modes.

Score reporting cut over on the same schedule: online national administrations from April 2025 and all administrations from September 2025 report the new English-Math-Reading Composite. ACT's own projections show how fast the change lands in admissions offices. The class of 2026 is the mixed cohort, with roughly a third of its Composites on the new basis, while the class of 2027 is effectively all-enhanced at about 99 percent.

If you tested before the changeover, your existing results are safe. ACT states plainly that scores from tests taken prior to the rollout of the new Composite do not change, and colleges continue to accept them. That stability was deliberate: ACT kept the 1-36 scale and the benchmarks untouched precisely so the transition would not orphan anyone's scores, and, as covered below, classic-era section scores still combine with enhanced ones in a Superscore.

For you, the takeaway is simple: there is no classic ACT left to register for. Every current test date uses the enhanced format, so plan your registration, your add-on choices, and your prep materials around it. The registration guide walks through the sign-up process step by step, including how to pick a test date that leaves room for a retake.

Is the ACT Science Section Optional Now?

Yes - Science is optional on the enhanced ACT. It runs 40 questions in 40 minutes, costs $5 as an add-on for 2026-27 national testing, and no longer factors into the Composite at all. On the classic test the same section was required in every administration; now it is a choice you make at registration. If you take it, you still receive a separate 1-36 Science score plus a STEM score, which is the average of your Math and Science section scores.

Your registration choice determines which scores appear on your report. Per ACT's educator guide, the core test alone earns you a Composite and the three section scores, and each add-on layers additional scores on top. The combinations work out as follows:

School-day testing adds a wrinkle. For state and district administrations, English, Math, and Reading must be completed in one sitting, but states and districts may schedule Science or Writing in a separate session - and they decide at the contract level whether to include Science at all. If you test through school, ask your counselor what your state includes rather than assuming.

Should you add Science? If you are aiming at STEM programs, a strong Science and STEM score is cheap supporting evidence for $5 and 40 minutes. If you are not, skipping it shortens your test day without touching your Composite - and because add-ons are chosen fresh at each registration, you can always add Science to a later attempt if your plans change. Either way, know what a competitive result looks like first - the good ACT score guide breaks down target ranges.

• •Core test (English, Math, Reading): Composite plus the three section scores.
• •Core plus Science: Composite plus a Science score and a STEM score.
• •Core plus Writing: Composite plus a Writing score; an ELA score is also reported.
• •Core plus Science and Writing: Composite plus STEM, Writing, and ELA.

How Is the New ACT Composite Score Calculated?

The enhanced ACT Composite is the rounded average of your English, Math, and Reading section scores. On the classic test it was the rounded average of four sections, Science included. That is the whole formula change - per ACT's Interpreting Scores brief, the 1-36 scale, the college-readiness benchmarks, and every score you earned before the transition stay exactly as they were.

Score reports do not flag which version you took. There is no EMR or EMRS label, no asterisk, and no conversion table - colleges see one Composite on the same 1-36 scale regardless of era. ACT designed the transition so that admissions offices could treat all Composites the same way, which keeps older scores fully usable.

Superscoring bridges the two versions freely. ACT takes your highest English, Math, and Reading scores from any test date - classic or enhanced - and averages those three for your Superscore Composite. Your best Science and STEM scores still display if you ever took Science, but they no longer feed the Superscore Composite; if you never took Science, no Science or STEM score is reported and the Superscore Composite is unaffected either way.

That mixing rule matters if you tested before the changeover. A strong classic-era Reading score can pair with an enhanced-era Math score at no penalty, which makes a targeted retake more efficient than ever. The superscore guide covers the mechanics, and the retake guide explains how many attempts you can bank - check both before booking another date so you know exactly which section score you are trying to move.

Are Enhanced ACT Scores Comparable to Classic ACT Scores?

ACT says yes, and it published the research. Its linking study found enhanced section scores 'interchangeable' with classic section scores, with a 0.99 correlation between the new English-Math-Reading Composite and the old four-section Composite. Above a Composite of 13, the two concord point for point, which is why ACT issues no conversion tables - a 28 means a 28, whichever version produced it.

There are caveats, and ACT states them itself. The concordance below a Composite of 14 was not estimated because too few students score there. ACT also projects average Composites to dip by about 0.1 to 0.4 points during the transition, while noting that more than 90 percent of students would land within 1 point of their would-be classic Composite. Treat all of this as ACT's published research - independent verification does not exist yet.

Does that make the enhanced ACT easier? Not on the evidence. The linking study kept every section's reliability above 0.80 - classic English measured 0.94 versus roughly 0.88 enhanced - and average scale scores came out nearly identical. What changed is the experience: fewer questions, more time for each, four Math choices instead of five. Same skills, slightly less measurement precision, not a softer test.

One more comparability note: the existing ACT/SAT concordance continues to apply to enhanced scores. ACT says a formal update would need enough students taking both the enhanced ACT and the digital SAT, and that work has not begun. So your enhanced Composite converts to an SAT equivalent the same way a classic one did, and the good ACT score guide shows what each number is worth.

How Much Does the Enhanced ACT Cost?

As of the 2026-27 testing year, national registration runs $70 for the core English-Math-Reading test, $75 with Science, $95 with Writing, and $100 with both add-ons, per ACT's published fee schedule. Do not budget from older articles: pricing in the prior testing year was lower, at $68 base and $4 for Science, and fees have moved almost every year. Confirm the current numbers on act.org before you register.

The extras are where costs stack up: late registration adds $42, a test date or center change costs $49, standby testing runs $75, and additional score reports are $20 each. Fee waivers exist for eligible students - coverage details change, so confirm what a waiver includes on ACT's fee-waiver page rather than relying on secondhand summaries. Budget the base fee first and add extras only where a program on your list actually wants them.

If a retake is plausible, price it into your plan from the start: two core registrations at $70 each cost $140, less than one fully loaded registration plus a late fee and a date change. The retake guide covers how many attempts make sense and how colleges treat them.

How Does the Enhanced ACT Compare to the Digital SAT?

The enhanced ACT landed in a market the SAT had already reshaped. College Board took the SAT fully digital and adaptive in spring 2024: per College Board's published structure, the digital SAT runs 2 hours 14 minutes with 98 questions - Reading and Writing at 54 questions in 64 minutes, Math at 44 questions in 70 minutes - with a 10-minute break. Both major admissions tests are now roughly two-hour exams.

The remaining differences are structural. The SAT is section-adaptive, meaning your second module's difficulty depends on how you did on the first, while the enhanced ACT is a fixed, linear form where every question is set in advance. The ACT still offers a paper option at national test centers. And only the ACT lets you bolt on a Science section for a separate STEM score.

Score portability matters less than you might fear. Colleges translate between the two tests using the existing ACT/SAT concordance, which ACT confirms still applies to enhanced scores, so a strong result on either test carries the same weight. Just decide early: switching tests mid-timeline wastes prep hours on format-specific tactics that do not transfer, like adaptive-module strategy or ACT Science reasoning.

Neither test is universally easier, and colleges accept both. If you have not committed, sit one timed practice test in each format and compare percentile outcomes rather than gut feel. The SAT vs ACT comparison and the digital test guide break the decision down in detail.

How Should You Prep Differently for the Enhanced ACT?

Any prep book written for the pre-2025 ACT is now wrong in three load-bearing ways: section lengths (75 English questions instead of 50), pacing math (35 minutes of Reading instead of 40), and a required Science section that no longer exists. Check the publication date on everything you buy, and make sure practice tests match the 50-45-36 question structure before you trust their timing. The same warning applies to free question banks and school handouts printed before the change.

Rebuild your pacing targets from the new numbers. You now have about 42 seconds per English question and roughly 67 seconds per question in both Math and Reading - figures computed from ACT's published counts. That extra margin rewards a different style: fewer panicked skips and more time to actually work problems. In Math, four answer choices instead of five also means elimination carries you further.

Decide on Science and Writing before registration, not test week. They are registration choices with fee implications, and they stretch your test day from 2 hours 5 minutes to as much as 3 hours 25 minutes of testing. Then run at least two full mocks under the exact 125-minute core format so the shorter test feels normal by test day.

If timed sections still spike your stress, that is fixable separately from content prep - the test anxiety guide covers techniques that hold up under a clock. For structured support across your whole timeline, the ACT exam help hub outlines the options end to end.

How Can You Hit Your Target Score on the Enhanced ACT?

Start with a number, not a feeling. Pull the middle-50-percent ACT range for each college on your list, set your target at or above the top of the band for your reach schools, and note whether any program values Science or Writing. The good ACT score guide gives you current context for what competitive actually means.

Then work backward from your test date. Register early enough to avoid the $42 late fee, lock in your Science and Writing decisions, and schedule two or three full-length enhanced-format mocks in the weeks before. Track section scores against your target and spend your remaining prep hours on the widest gap, not the most comfortable section. Two mocks is the floor; three spaced a week apart give you a trend line instead of a single data point.

If the gap is bigger than your timeline can close, Exam Assist supports ACT candidates on straightforward terms - you pay only after you pass, when you achieve your target score. Message us with your test date, your target, and your current section scores, and we will lay out your options confidentially. Exam Assist is independent and is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, ACT, Inc.