Tl;dr: Take the optional Science section, but not the optional Writing test. Take the test on paper. And plan to take the test more than once. Here's why.
012025 ACT format change
In April of 2024, the ACT was purchased by the private equity firm Nexus Capital Management and almost immediately began planning to change the test's format, rolling it out in 2025 in a new "Enhanced" version, available in both paper and digital formats. The Enhanced ACT changed the length and timing of sections on the test, but most confusingly, made the Science section optional in addition to the existing optional Writing test.
02Should I take the optional Writing test?
Nope. The ACT Writing test is an optional 40-minute essay that you'll have to pay extra to take. As of right now, we don't know of any schools that require the ACT Writing, so there's no need for students to take it. Don't waste your time or money on test day.
03Should I take the optional Science test?
Probably. The Science section was part of the ACT's composite score for years, so colleges are used to accepting it. As of 2026, though, most colleges have moved away from requiring it - but not all. Some selective schools will still accept "optional" Science scores, but when it comes to selective schools, that might as well read "required." That said, if you're 100% firm on your college list, and none of those schools require it, you can skip it. If your college list is still up in the air, however, it's worth taking, just so you can potentially avoid a retake later. Policies are still settling on this, though, so it's worth verifying with the school(s) you're interested in.
04Should I test on paper or digitally?
On paper. Probably. This one is a little more open, but we generally recommend students take the ACT on paper. The computerized and paper test formats and content are identical, but there are a few issues worth keeping in mind when you're making your decision.
First, as a whole, most students do better on the paper version of the test. There's a lot to be said for having a test in front of you, particularly for the Math and Reading sections. On Math, a paper test reduces transcription errors, and students tend to write out more of their work if they don't need to copy down a problem. Writing out more of your work is always a good idea, and leads to fewer careless errors. During the Reading test, students are more easily able to annotate and find content in the long-form passages that the ACT uses, and it's simpler to eliminate answers. Beyond that, the ACT digital testing experience is still very new, and there have been some serious issues with proctors struggling to unlock sections of the test or students being unable to finish.
It's not all downside, though. The digital version of the ACT allows students to make use of a Desmos-based graphing calculator, which is much better than the TI calculators that most students test with. While not quite as useful as it is on the SAT, the Desmos calculator does allow students to more easily solve some types of Math questions - a real advantage when time is a factor.
Overall, though, we think testing on paper provides too many benefits to ignore, but if you're looking to improve your Math score and the college you're planning to attend superscores the ACT, the digital test may be worth a shot.
05Why do I need to take the ACT more than once?
We always recommend students take their test of choice at least twice during their junior year - students tend to do better the second time around, and they don't feel quite as much pressure knowing that they will have more than one chance to get the score they need. With the changes to the ACT, though, it's particularly important - and you might want to plan on taking it even more.
With the prior version of the test, students would occasionally take an unscored "experimental" section. The ACT used this section to beta test new questions and ensure consistency across exams. This section no longer exists. The new format rolls these experimental questions into the core sections of the test. On the Math, it's just a handful of questions spread throughout the section, but on the English, Reading, and Science, one full passage each isn't scored.
This can create some pretty extreme variance in student scores, especially in Reading. Here's how it works:
The ACT has confirmed the unscored passage will never be first or last - it'll always be one of the middle passages. That's helpful to know going in, but it doesn't eliminate the variance. It does mean that you should always spend time on the first and last passages, though, since you know they'll count.
Let's say you're a normal student, and you're good - but not great - at Reading. You work through all four passages, doing well on some and struggling on others. On the old version of the test, every passage counted equally. On the new version, one of those middle passages won't count, and you have no way of knowing which one.
Why does this matter? Imagine you cruise through passage 2 and stumble on passage 3. If passage 3 is the unscored one, you're in the clear - your strong work on passage 2 counted, and the one you struggled with didn't. Great! Flip it around, though: if passage 2 turns out to be unscored, your best work doesn't show up in your score, and the passage you bombed is what counts. Same student, same test, very different result depending on which middle passage the ACT decides to drop.
The same thing holds for all of the passage-based sections (ie everything but the Math), so you should probably take the test more than once: you never know if you'll get lucky or unlucky with the experimental passage on any given test day.
06Still having trouble deciding what to do?
Get in touch with us and take a free practice ACT, and we can help point you in the right direction.
