If your student is studying from an ACT book more than a year old, here's the good news and the catch in one sentence: the test got shorter and friendlier — and the families who understand exactly how are the ones who gain the most.
The ACT has now fully rolled out the biggest redesign in its modern history — the "Enhanced ACT." Online national testing began in spring 2025, paper national testing and the new three-section composite followed in fall 2025, and school-day testing joined in spring 2026. The legacy four-section test is retired. Most families have heard a vague "the ACT got shorter." Far fewer understand what actually changed — and that understanding is an advantage.
Let me walk you through it in plain English.
Science is now optional — and your composite reflects it For decades the ACT tested four sections: English, Math, Reading, and Science. On the Enhanced ACT, Science is optional, and the Composite is the average of just three sections — English, Math, and Reading. A student can still take Science; it simply reports as a separate score rather than folding into the Composite.
Shorter test, fewer questions — but "shorter" isn't "easier" The Enhanced core test runs about two hours and five minutes, down from roughly three, with about 44 fewer core questions. The new core is 50 English questions in 35 minutes, 45 Math in 50 minutes, and 36 Reading in 40 minutes. More time per question sounds like a gift — and it genuinely helps — but here's the part the headlines skip: many of the easiest questions were removed, so the ones that remain trend slightly harder on average. Fewer questions means each one carries more weight, and a careless slip costs a little more.
What this means for how your student prepares The takeaway is encouraging: the same preparation that always worked still works, and the test now asks for a little less endurance. The patterns the ACT repeats — the same trap types, the same question styles, the same handful of concepts tested again and again — didn't go anywhere. A student who learns to recognize those patterns walks in with a real edge, and now they do it on a shorter, less draining test.
The one thing not to do Don't prep from outdated materials. A book built for the old four-section test will drill Science passages that no longer count toward the Composite and pace your student for a test that's 44 questions longer than the real one. Make sure whatever your student studies from is built for the Enhanced format.
The test changed. The path to a great score didn't — it just got a little shorter.
Verify the current test structure and section options anytime at act.org; the ACT occasionally updates details, and it's always worth confirming before a registration decision.