The ACT is an entrance exam used by most colleges and universities to make admissions decisions. It is a multiple-choice, pencil-and-paper test administered by ACT, Inc.
The purpose of the ACT test is to measure a high school student’s readiness for college, and provide colleges with one common data point that can be used to compare all applicants.
The ACT is composed of the following sections:
- English
- Math
- Reading
- Science
- Writing (optional)
The user will have 2 hrs, 55 minutes (plus 40 minutes if taking ACT with writing) to take the full exam.
The ACT test structure consist of the following:
| Section | Question # | Time Limit | Content/Skills Covered | Question Types |
| English | 75 questions | 45 min | grammar usage punctuation sentence structure content organization style | multiple-choice usage and rhetorical skills questions |
| Math | 60 questions | 60 min | pre-algebra elementary algebra intermediate algebra coordinate geometry plane geometry trigonometry | multiple-choice questions |
| Reading | 40 questions | 35 min | reading comprehension of stated or implied | multiple-choice referring and reasoning questions |
| Science | 40 questions | 35 min | interpretation analysis evaluation reasoning problem-solving | multiple-choice questions based around: data representation research summaries conflicting viewpoints |
| Writing (Optional) | 1 Essay | 40 min | writing skills | essay prompt |