Every year a lot of students apply for admission in colleges in the United States. The capability of all these students is accessed through a multiple-choice, paper, and pencil test called ACT. Students and parents, if you have questions about the ACT, then you are reading the right article. This article will take you through the importance of the ACT.
What is the ACT?
ACT, American College Testing is a standardized test used to gauge students for admission to college in the United States. This test is administered by ACT, a non-profit organization in the US. The ACT was co-founded by Everett Franklin Lindquist, a University of Iowa professor in 1959. The idea started in 1929 when Lindquist created the tests used to select Iowa’s top high school scholars. In 1942 Lindquist introduced the Iowa Tests of Educational Development for students in classes 9 to 12. In 1958 Lindquist presented his concept of college entrance exam in a conference by the Educational Testing Service. On 7th November 1959, the first-ever ACT test was taken by 75,406 students.
ACT is a multiple-choice test that covers the subject areas of English, math, science, and reading. This test measures the intelligence quotient and academic readiness of high school students to complete first-year college-level work. The scoring is done on a 1-36 scale, a composite score that is the average score from all the four subject area tests. The score is always reported as a whole number. The ACT score report also includes an English language Arts score, a STEM score, and a Progress Toward Career Readiness measure.
For the year 2018-2019, the ACT test cost $50.0 which didn’t include the writing section. The ACT with writing costs around $67.00. An additional fee is applicable in cases like late registrations, test center changes, test date changes, and standby testing. Fee waivers are available to students in high school who are either US citizens or meet one or more criteria of economic need mentioned on the ACT Fee Waiver form.
Resources to Prep For the ACT?
You can start by connecting with your school counselor as they can assist you with registering for the next ACT and share test-prep resources. Some high schools offer test-prep courses post-school hours. A lot of material is present on the ACT website that contains videos and sample questions. Also, there are websites like Etutorworld.com where you can prepare for ACT test papers and guarantee your success.
Why is the ACT Important?
ACT score is important for the following reasons:
- The colleges use your ACT score to compare you to other applicants. Most of the students applying for college have taken the ACT or SAT. These tests are used as a sort of normalizer. Your ACT score will tell the college admissions officer if your GPA and transcripts are a correct representation of your intellect. If you have low GPAs but a high ACT score, then the ACT score can make up for that loss.
- A high ACT score will make it easy for you to get into the college of your choice. A higher ACT scoring student also attracts potential scholarship money from the college.
- ACT score is incorporated into a university’s annual ACT statistics which is used in ranking colleges across the United States. People and students use this statistic to make judgments about the college they might want to study in. This makes it even more important for colleges to select students with higher ACT scores.
What Other Tests Can I Take for College?
There are a lot of other tests that you can take based on your future study plan.
- SAT Test is another test used by colleges to evaluate students. It has a different structure compared to the ACT. Some colleges accept SAT scores in place of the ACT. You can check these details on the college website.
- ACCUPLACER is a computer-based test that you can take to get admitted to a community college. This test gauges the Maths and English skills of students.
- If you wish to join the Armed Forces, then you can take the ASVAB test.
- Other ACT programs like ACT Aspire, ACTNext, PreACT, ACT Tessera, etc. are some of the tests that you can take to measure your readiness for college.
How do I Sign Up?
Students can create an online account at ACT.org. a valid email address is needed to create the account. You can register for the test through your account only. All the deadlines are mentioned on the website.
