ACT

The ACT is an assessment created and administered by ACT, Inc. and has been used as a college admissions test since 1959. Students may take the ACT to gain entrance into a four-year university, obtain scholarships, and/or assess their readiness for freshman-level college coursework.  

TEA supports and aligns with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in their 60x30TX goal, which states that at least 60 percent of Texans ages 25-34 will have a certificate or degree by 2030. By taking a college prep exam, such as the ACT, Texas students expand the number of postsecondary options available to them.

• Explore the ACT Website specifically for Texas students and educators

• For more information regarding the ACT program, refer to the ACT Technical Manual. 

TEA recommends the six steps below for students and educators to prepare for and administer the ACT.

Before Exam

Step 1: Choose Which Test to Take

Students and administrators/educators can check out this useful comparison chart to identify similarities and differences between the college preparation assessments (SAT, ACT, and TSIA) and determine which one(s) is the best fit.

Step 2: Schedule and Register for Examination

School Day Administration

Over 200 school districts have participated in ACT School Day testing at least once in the last two years. ACT School Day offers an opportunity for students to take the assessment on their campus during the school day. By administering the assessment on a school day, districts/campuses increase access and reduce barriers for many students who may not be able to test on a Saturday (i.e., working students, students without transportation, etc.). Administrators can learn more about signing up for ACT School Day here. 

Weekend Test Administrations (National Day)

Students may also take the ACT exam on weekends. ACT fee waivers for eligible students can be obtained through high school counselors. Students can register individually and choose their testing site. 

2025-2026 Cost & Fee Waivers

House Bill 3 (HB 3), which passed in the 86th legislative session, permitted the state to reimburse districts for the amount of fees paid by the district for the administration of a college preparation assessment. This means that high school students may take one SAT, ACT, or TSIA in the spring of their junior year or during their senior year at state cost, providing one FREE college preparation assessment at no cost to the student.

TEA has entered into a contract with ACT for a negotiated statewide rate for high school ACT School Day administrations. Additionally, eligible students may use fee waivers to pay test fees for national testing and/or sending score reports to colleges/universities without costs.

 A district will be reimbursed for the highest cost of a test taken by each HB3 eligible student. 

2025-2026 ACT will be $39 for each high school student.  The rates for the past four years are as follows:

Step 3: Prepare and Study

Both the student and the teacher have an active role in exam preparation. Fortunately, ACT, Inc. has created several resources for both parties.

For Students:

• Free daily practice through MyACT.org
• Online sample test questions for English, math, reading, science and essay sections
• Free study guide that includes a full-length practice test, test-taking strategies, and a breakdown of test content
• Free test prep through Kaplan 

For Educators:

• ACT Curriculum Review Worksheets - Interpret and evaluate test scores for classroom instruction
• Counselor Toolkit - Help students prepare for the ACT test
• ACT Knowledge Hub - Stay up to date through ACT's professional development to become familiar with the ACT

Exam Day

Step 4: Take the Test

It’s time to take the exam. Check out these links for what to expect on test day and a test day checklist about items to bring with you.

Support for English Learners - ACT provides supports on the test to U.S. students who are English learners to ensure that the ACT scores earned by English learners accurately reflect what they have learned in school. To qualify, students must be enrolled in a school district's English Learners (EL) program.

ACT provides access to the ACT test for examinees through appropriate accommodations. More information on accommodations can be found by accessing the accommodations landing page. 

After Exam

Step 5: Evaluate Scores

Students and administrators can expect to receive scores within 3-8 weeks after taking the exam.

• What do the scores mean? Find resources for educators and students on how to interpret scores.
• Retake if needed! If students are unhappy with their scores, they can return to Step 3 and retake the assessment if needed.
• Administrators and educators can help celebrate student success with the ACT recognition club toolkits.
• ACT, Inc. recently rolled out new changes like superscoring, which considers the highest scores of each section on the test for students who take the test multiple times.

Step 6: Plan for Postsecondary and/or Apply to College

Once they've taken the exam, students should apply to universities and scholarships and discover endless possibilities.

• Apply Texas – Universal application platform for all Texas public institutions of higher education.
• Common App – Application platform for public and private colleges and universities across all 50 U.S. states and 20 countries.
• Financial Aid & Scholarships – Millions of dollars go unclaimed every year, so students, parents, educators, and administrators should extensively research financial aid options. Additionally, students can access SwiftStudent, a free digital tool that explains the financial aid appeals process.
• College Scorecard -This tool, created by the US Department of Education, allows students to search for college matches based on a variety of factors, including ACT score admission requirements.
• Send scores – If not done already, students should send scores to colleges. Students can send four free score reports or up to sixteen if using a fee waiver.
• Free ebook created by ACT on how to prepare for college in a virtual environment.
• Texas OnCourse - premier college and career planning website with middle school curriculum, advising training, data dashboards, student resources and more.