Enhanced ACT: format and scoring

The ACT (Enhanced ACT)

The Enhanced ACT is a fixed-form, non-adaptive multiple-choice test with three core sections — English, Mathematics and Reading — plus an optional Science section and an optional Writing essay. The core test is 131 administered questions in 125 minutes, of which 108 are scored and 23 are embedded unscored field-test items; adding Science gives 171 administered questions (142 scored) in 165 minutes. Every section is scaled 1-36, and under the enhanced format the Composite is the rounded average of English, Mathematics and Reading only: Science feeds a separate STEM score and Writing (2-12) feeds an ELA score. Math answer choices were reduced from five to four, calculators are permitted on Mathematics only, and there is no penalty for wrong answers.

Version described

Enhanced ACT — 2026-2027 administration year (national online + national paper; state/district from spring 2026)

Admissions cycle

2026-2027 national test dates: September 19, 2026; October 17, 2026; December 12, 2026; February 27, 2027; April 10, 2027; June 12, 2027; July 10, 2027.

Sections and timing

Navigation rules

What you may and may not do once a section has started. Our timed practice enforces these on the server, not just in the interface.

• You can move backward and forward freely within a section.
• You can change an answer before the section is submitted.
• A review screen lists your answers at the end of the section.
• You can mark any question for review.
• Once a section is submitted it cannot be reopened.

Scoring

Correct answer

1 point(s)

Wrong answer

No penalty

Left blank

0 point(s)

Reported scale

ACT Composite (1-36): 1–36Each section generates a 1-36 scale score. Under the enhanced format the Composite is the average of the English, Mathematics and Reading scale scores only, rounded to the nearest whole number (fractions below one-half round down, one-half or more round up). Science is reported separately on 1-36 and is excluded from the Composite; the optional Writing test is reported separately on 2-12. This records the real reported scale as a fact about the exam — we do not produce a score on it.

• Raw score is the count of correct answers: "The number of questions you answered correctly on each test section is a raw score."
• There is no penalty for incorrect answers and no penalty for guessing. Omitted answers score zero — neither penalised nor rewarded — but are tracked separately from wrong answers for analytics.
• Maximum raw scores under the enhanced format are the scored-item counts: English 40, Mathematics 41, Reading 27, Science 34. Embedded field-test items are excluded from scoring.
• Reporting-category subscores are the sum of correct answers within each category code: English POW + KLA + CSE = 40; Mathematics PHM + IES = 41; Science IOD + SIN + EMI = 34.
• The Mathematics Modeling category is an overlay: each modeling item is also counted in its content reporting category, so category shares do not sum to 100%.
• STEM score = average of Mathematics and Science, awarded only if the optional Science section is taken. ELA score requires English, Reading and the optional Writing section.
• Superscore Composite is also English/Mathematics/Reading only. Science superscores are still reported and still feed STEM, but not the Superscore Composite.
• Writing is scored 2-12 as the rounded average of four domain scores (Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, Language Use and Conventions). We never auto-score an essay; the rubrics are shown for self-assessment.
• Our sectional practice contains no embedded field-test items, so every administered question counts toward the raw score we report. Real ACT raw scores exclude 10 English, 4 Mathematics, 9 Reading and 6 Science items.

What is tested

ACT Education Corp.’s own content domains. Our question bank is tagged against these, so a results page names the same skills the test maker does.

• Production of Writing (POW)38-43% of scored items

  Topic development and the organisation of a text: whether material serves the writer's purpose and whether a passage holds together.

  Topic Development — Purpose and Focus · Organization, Unity, and Cohesion

• Knowledge of Language (KLA)18-23% of scored items

  Precise, concise and stylistically consistent use of language.

  Expressing Ideas Clearly · Style

• Conventions of Standard English (CSE)38-43% of scored items

  Sentence structure, usage and punctuation. Reduced from the legacy 52-55% share under the enhanced format.

  Sentence Structure and Formation · Usage Conventions · Punctuation Conventions

• Preparing for Higher Math: Number and Quantity10-12% of scored items

  Sub-category of Preparing for Higher Math (PHM), which is 80% of scored math items in total.

  Rational and Irrational Numbers · Properties of Exponents · Vectors and Matrices · Complex Numbers · Quantities and Units

• Preparing for Higher Math: Algebra17-20% of scored items

  Sub-category of Preparing for Higher Math (PHM).

  Linear Expressions, Equations, and Inequalities · Quadratic Expressions, Equations, and Inequalities · Rational and Radical Expressions and Equations · Polynomial Expressions and Equations · Systems of Equations and Inequalities · Representation of Expressions and Equations

• Preparing for Higher Math: Functions17-20% of scored items

  Sub-category of Preparing for Higher Math (PHM).

  Properties of Functions · Function Composition, Transformation, and Inverse Functions · Sequences and Series · Trigonometric Functions · Exponential and Logarithmic Functions

• Preparing for Higher Math: Geometry17-20% of scored items

  Sub-category of Preparing for Higher Math (PHM).

  Congruence and Similarity Relationships · Surface Area and Volume · Triangles and Circles; Missing Values · Trigonometric Ratios · Equations of Conic Sections

• Preparing for Higher Math: Statistics and Probability12-15% of scored items

  Sub-category of Preparing for Higher Math (PHM). ACT's "Initial Enhanced ACT Math Content Blueprint" table gives 10-12% for this category, but both the operational alignment table and ACT's public math description page give 12-15%; the 12-15% figure is the current specification.

  Center and Spread of Distributions · Data Collection Methods · Relationships in Bivariate Data · Probability

• Integrating Essential Skills (IES)20% of scored items

  Concepts typically learned before higher math, applied in more complex or multi-step settings.

  Rate and Proportion · Area · Using Expressions to Represent Quantities · Using Equations to Capture Relationships · Rational Exponents · Basics of Functions · Data Analysis

• Modeling (overlay category)greater than 20% of scored items (overlay, double-counted)

  An OVERLAY reporting category: "Each modeling item is also counted in the other appropriate reporting categories". Its share therefore does not sum to 100% with PHM and IES.

  Producing Models · Interpreting Models · Understanding Models · Evaluating Models · Improving Models

• Key Ideas and Details (KID)44-52% of scored items

  What the text says and implies. Reduced from the legacy 53-60% share under the enhanced format.

  Close Reading · Central Ideas, Themes, and Summaries · Relationships

• Craft and Structure26-33% of scored items

  How a text is built and why the author made those choices.

  Word Meanings and Word Choice · Text Structure · Purpose and Point of View

• Integration of Knowledge and Ideas (IKI)19-26% of scored items

  Evaluating arguments and drawing across multiple texts and representations.

  Arguments · Synthesis of Multiple Texts · Visual and Quantitative Information

• Interpretation of Data (IOD)38-50% of scored items

  Reading and reasoning from scientific data presentations.

  Manipulate and Analyse Scientific Data · Identify and Interpret Trends and Relationships · Translate Between Data Representations · Interpolate and Extrapolate from Data

• Scientific Investigation (SIN)18-32% of scored items

  Experimental tools, procedures and design.

  Understand Experimental Tools, Procedures and Design · Compare and Extend Experiments · Predict the Results of Modifying an Experiment

• Evaluating Scientific Arguments and Models with Evidence (EMI)24-38% of scored items

  Renamed under the enhanced format from "Evaluation of Models, Inferences, and Experimental Results" but keeps the code EMI in ACT scoring keys.

  Judge the Credibility of Scientific Information · Draw Conclusions and Make Predictions from Evidence · Evaluate and Compare Competing Models, Hypotheses and Viewpoints · Integrate Scientific Background Knowledge with the Passage

• Essay Domain Scores

  Four domain scores, each 2-12, averaged and rounded to a single 2-12 Writing subject score. Rubrics are published; the rater model is not.

  Ideas and Analysis · Development and Support · Organization · Language Use and Conventions

What ACT Education Corp. does not publish

We could not verify the following from an official source. Rather than guess, we switch off any feature that would depend on them, and we say so here.

• Exact duration of the "short break" between Reading and the optional Science/Writing sections on national test dates, and whether any break exists between Mathematics and Reading under the enhanced format. ACT's online student tutorial still describes the legacy pattern (15-minute break after mathematics, 5-minute break after science), which contradicts the February 2026 design framework. Exam-accurate break timing is disabled; no blueprint schedules a timed break.
• Whether the paper (offline) administration permits the same free within-section navigation and review as the online TestNav interface. The navigation rules encoded here come from the online student tutorial; no official statement was located for paper. Navigation is therefore not presented as mode-specific.
• The exact split of English items between short and long passages, and the number of passages per English form. ACT states the enhanced English test features "a mix of short and long essays" but does not publish the counts.
• Number of Reading passages per form. ACT confirms passage lengths (two of roughly 750 standard words, one of roughly 650) and a paired/synthesis element, but does not state a fixed passage count for the enhanced form.
• Number of Science passages per form and the enhanced-format split across Data Representation / Research Summaries / Conflicting Viewpoints. The 25-35% / 45-60% / 15-20% figures on ACT's science description page are not restated in the February 2026 design framework and may be legacy.
• Placement of the Reading skill area "Visual and Quantitative Information" under a specific reporting category. ACT's source table does not assign it unambiguously; it is filed under Integration of Knowledge and Ideas here as an inference.
• Raw-to-scale conversion tables, the equating/pre-equating methodology and the item-level IRT parameters behind them. Published only for specific released practice forms, never in general.
• The operational blueprint constraints ACT uses to assemble a form (difficulty targets, depth-of-knowledge distribution, passage-type mix beyond the published percentage ranges, matrix-sampling tier assignments).
• The positions of embedded field-test items within an operational form. ACT says they are "placed strategically throughout the section tests" but does not disclose the placement rule; the clustering seen in one released practice form is form-specific.
• Writing essay scoring beyond the published domain rubrics: the rater model, adjudication rules and any automated-scoring engine behaviour are not documented in a way that permits replication.
• Percentile ranks and national norms for the enhanced Composite. Not published in the sources verified, so ACT percentiles are never displayed.
• Whether Science can be selected or deselected after registration, and the precise registration-time mechanics for choosing Science/Writing on national test dates.
• Accommodation timing multipliers (50% / 100% extended time) under the enhanced format.
• Whether international (non-US) test dates in the 2026-2027 cycle are offered in both paper and online modes, and what the February 2026 "additional enhancements for international test takers" consist of.

Sources

Compiled by Examer from ACT’s published pages. Each source shows the date it was checked.

1. [1] Design Framework for the ACT Enhancements (February 2026) — ACT Education Corp., checked 2026-09-18
2. [2] ACT Enhancements Educator Guide — ACT Education Corp., checked 2026-09-18
3. [3] ACT exam sections and structure — ACT, checked 2026-09-18
4. [4] ACT online testing student tutorial (TestNav) — ACT Education Corp., checked 2026-09-18
5. [5] ACT National Enhancements scoring key and conversion tables — ACT Education Corp., checked 2026-09-18
6. [6] ACT calculator policy (updated June 1, 2026) — ACT Education Corp., checked 2026-09-18
7. [7] Understanding your ACT scores — ACT, checked 2026-09-18
8. [8] Description of the ACT English test — ACT, checked 2026-09-18
9. [9] Description of the ACT mathematics test — ACT, checked 2026-09-18
10. [10] Description of the ACT reading test — ACT, checked 2026-09-18
11. [11] Description of the ACT science test — ACT, checked 2026-09-18
12. [12] ACT test enhancements overview — ACT, checked 2026-09-18
13. [13] ACT enhancements K-12 educator FAQs — ACT, checked 2026-09-18
14. [14] ACT national test dates — ACT, checked 2026-09-18
15. [15] ACT (non-US) test enhancements — ACT, checked 2026-09-18