The Enhanced ACT®, Explained
The ACT® changed in April 2025 — it's shorter, science is optional, and you can take it online. If you've heard it called the "new ACT" or the "digital ACT," this is the exam they mean: ACT officially calls it the enhanced ACT. Here's exactly what changed, what didn't, and what it means for how you prepare.
What Is the Enhanced ACT®?
The enhanced ACT is ACT's redesigned exam, rolled out on national test dates starting April 2025. It keeps the same 1–36 scoring scale and the same subjects — English, math, reading, and science — but restructures the test around three required sections, with science and writing now optional. Students can choose to take it online or on paper.
The New Structure, Section by Section
The required core is now 131 questions in 125 minutes:
- English: 50 questions, 35 minutes
- Math: 45 questions, 50 minutes
- Reading: 36 questions, 40 minutes
- Science (optional): 40 questions, 40 minutes
- Writing (optional): one essay, 40 minutes
Compared to the legacy test's 75 English, 60 math, 40 reading, and 40 science questions, that's roughly 44 fewer questions in the core sections — while the time limits shrank less. The result: more time per question across every section, which means less of the time pressure the ACT was famous for.
One more change worth knowing: math questions now have four answer choices instead of five, matching the other sections.
How Scoring Changed
The scale is still 1–36 per section, and colleges still see a composite — but the composite is now the average of your English, math, and reading scores only. If you take the optional science section, it's scored separately on the same 1–36 scale and reported alongside your composite, so a strong science score can still showcase your strengths without dragging down (or inflating) your main number.
Superscoring — combining your best section scores across test dates — continues to be accepted at the discretion of individual colleges.
Taking It Online: What the Digital Experience Adds
The online version presents one question at a time and includes on-screen tools built into the test: a highlighter, an answer eliminator for crossing out choices, answer masking to hide options while you think, a line reader for tracking text, flag-for-review, and an on-screen calculator for the math section. The content is the same either way — online and paper cover the same material with the same question types — so the choice comes down to which testing experience suits you.
Should You Take the SAT® or the Enhanced ACT®?
The classic trade-offs still apply — but the gap has narrowed. The enhanced ACT's lighter time pressure removes some of the old "the ACT is a sprint" caveat, while the optional science section means you're no longer forced into a subject that isn't your strength. For a full side-by-side comparison of format, timing, and score conversion, see our SAT® vs. ACT guide.
How to Prepare for the Enhanced ACT®
The single biggest preparation mistake right now is practicing on legacy-format material — old section lengths, five-choice math, required science. The exam you'll sit is different, and your practice should match it.
ETT's ACT practice tests are built to the enhanced ACT's exact current structure — 50 English, 45 math, 36 reading, plus the optional 40-question science section — with realistic 1–36 section scoring and a composite calculated the new way. Our content team builds every question against the current exam blueprint, not recycled pre-2025 material, and our analytics show you exactly which topics to drill next.
Try an enhanced ACT practice test or see our ACT plans today.