American College Testing — ACT is college readiness assessment and a standardized test for high school achievement and college admissions in the United States produced by ACT, a nonprofit organization of the same name. It was first administered in November 1959 by Everett Franklin Lindquist as a competitor to the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test, now the SAT.
The ACT originally consisted of four tests: English, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Natural Sciences. In 1989, the Social Studies test was changed into a Reading section (which included a Social Studies subsection) and the Natural Sciences test was renamed the Science Reasoning test, with more emphasis on problem solving skills. In February 2005, an optional Writing test was added to the ACT, mirroring changes at the SAT that took place later in March of the same year.
The ACT is now offered as a computer-based test. The test will continue to be offered in the paper format for schools that are not ready to transition to computer testing.
The ACT originally consisted of four tests: English, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Natural Sciences. In 1989, the Social Studies test was changed into a Reading section (which included a Social Studies subsection) and the Natural Sciences test was renamed the Science Reasoning test, with more emphasis on problem solving skills. In February 2005, an optional Writing test was added to the ACT, mirroring changes at the SAT that took place later in March of the same year.
The ACT is now offered as a computer-based test. The test will continue to be offered in the paper format for schools that are not ready to transition to computer testing.
Resources and materials for ACT preparation
| Site | Description |
|---|---|
| ACT | ACT official site with sample tasks and recommended coursebooks |
| 4tests | Free ACT online test |
| Varsitytutors | Free online tests for every exam section |
| Testverbal | Word list for ACT test |
| Testpreppractice | Book list for ACT preparation |