What Students and Parents of the class of 2026 need to know about the ACT® and SAT®
Author’s Note #1 – This guide is aimed at both students and parents of the class of 2026. Thus, in some of the writing, you will notice I try and refer to both students and potentially parents in the same sentences. Apologies for any confusion.
Author’s Note #2 - Some may find this easier to read in a PDF format which I have included here.
As the 2024-2025 school year gets underway, it is important for current Juniors of the class of 2026 and their parents to be aware of the current state of both the ACT® and SAT® exams. Understanding this information will be helpful for students and their parents as they move towards the college application process.
A couple key highlights before we dive into the state of both tests:
The SAT® is now a shorter exam and is only offered in an online format. These changes were put into place in March of 2024. The exam is still scored out of 1600 and tests students on Reading, Writing, and Math topics.
The ACT® has not really changed over the past decade or so. It is still a four-section exam, with each section scored out of 36 points. It is largely taken in written form via a testing booklet, though there is an online option. Perhaps most importantly, however, is that the ACT® recently announced changes to the exam, which will start to come into play in April of 2025 for online test takers, and will be put into place for all test takers by the Spring of 2026.
In the wake of COVID-19, more colleges and universities moved away from requiring either a SAT® or ACT® score for admission. However, many schools (especially some of the elite institutions), are starting to require a test score from either of the exams for admission again. While current requirements are only known for Class of 2025 admission, those requirements could change for the Class of 2026.
Section 1 - The State of the SAT®
Exam Format
The test is now facilitated 100% online via the Bluebook App, which many students have already downloaded to their computers for taking the PSAT®.
It is recommended that students bring their laptop on test day to take the exam, though you can request a device from College Board if needed.
The Format:
Reading and Writing Module 1 - 27 questions, 32 minutes
Reading and Writing Module 2 - 27 questions, 32 minutes (The difficulty of module 2 depends on the student’s performance on module 1)*
10 minute break
Math Module 1 - 22 questions, 35 minutes
Math Module 2 - 22 questions, 35 minutes (The difficulty of module 2 depends on the student’s performance on module 1)*
Total: 98 questions, 144 minutes (including the break) = 2 hours 24 minutes
*A note on the difficulty of the second module for both the reading & writing and math sections. It is based on a concept called adaptive testing. If a student does well on the first module (which typically means they get about more than half of the questions right), then they get a more difficult second module. If they do not do as well on the first module, then they would get an easier second module.
To be clear, the questions you get on the 2nd reading and writing module depend on your performance on the 1st reading and writing module. Likewise, the questions you get on the 2nd math module depend on your performance on the 1st math module.
You want to get the harder second module. Getting the easier 2nd module limits how high you can score on the section overall.
Exam Scoring
1600 Maximum Points in Total
800 Maximum Points for the Reading and Writing Section
800 Maximum Points for the Math Section
Exam Topics
Reading and Writing: Boundaries, Central Ideas and Details, Command of Evidence, Cross-Text Connections, Form Structure and Sense, Inferences, Rhetorical Synthesis, Text Structure and Purpose, Transitions, Words in Context
Math: Area and Volume, Circles, Equivalent Expressions, Evaluating Statistical Claims, Linear Equations in One Variable, Linear Equations in Two Variable, Linear Functions, Linear Inequalities, Lines Angles and Triangles, Nonlinear Equations and Systems of Equations, Nonlinear Functions, One Variable Data, Percentages, Probability, Ratios Rates Proportions and Units, Right Triangles and Trigonometry, System of Linear Equations, Two Variable Data
Key Things to Know
If you hear the Digital SAT® is easier or harder than the old exam or when compared to the ACT®, you are hearing lies. First, the Digital SAT® was designed by College Board to be of equal difficulty to the old SAT®. Second, different students find either the ACT® or SAT® easier than the other. In my experience, you never know until you take a practice exam of both:
SAT Practice Exam (Download Bluebook App here and follow instructions)
One unfortunate note about the Digital SAT® is that there are very few official practice tests available for students (only 6 of this writing). Typically, this means that to take more practice exams, students and tutors need to purchase practice tests developed by large test prep companies such as The Princeton Review or Kaplan.
Fortunately, there are still plenty of practice problems on each topic that can be found here.
One the other hand, one positive note about the Digital SAT® is that students are allowed to use the powerful online DESMOS graphing calculator. You can check out my quick tutorial on it here, but if not, just know that it can be super empowering when used properly.
2024-2025 Test Dates
October 5, 2024
November 2, 2024
December 7, 2024
March 8, 2025
May 3, 2025
June 7, 2025
Section 2 - The State of the ACT®
Before we dive in, students and parents of the class of 2026 need to know that the ACT® will be changing starting in April of 2025 for online test takers, and the changes will impact all test takers by Spring of 2026. You can read more about the changes and timeline here.
Why is this important for the class of 2026? Because some test prep gurus are anticipating the changes for pencil and paper weekend test takers to be put into effect starting the Fall of 2025, including perhaps as early as the September 2025 exam. You may be wondering - But what about the Spring of 2026 timeline? The Spring of 2026 timeframe is for all “school-day” test takers, which is only students who take the exam during the school day.
Since most students take the test via pencil and paper on the weekend, this means the exam could change its format before you/your child takes their final ACT. While most students aim to complete their ACT/SAT testing prior to the end of their Junior year, some students looking to boost their score will take the exam 1-2 more times in the Fall of their senior year to try and get their goal score.
One of the other problems is, as of this writing, there is still a lot unknown about the new format of the exam. Until a new exam practice test is released, it will be hard to assess how drastic the test materially changed.
Does that mean that the ACT® is not a good choice for students in the Class of 2026? Not at all. If you/your child anticipates not taking the exam after the Spring of 2025, you will not need to worry about a potential format change. Even if the format changes before a student’s last exam in the Fall of 2025, the rules and strategies learned during studying for the current exam will still serve very useful to acing the new format.
Exam Format
Current Format
4 Sections (English, Math, Reading, Science)
Note the English section is really like a grammar section, and the Science section does not test much science knowledge at all, but rather interpretations of charts, graphs, and passages
Optional Writing Section
Very few colleges require the writing section, and even if they do, the score is lightly considered
Total Time: 3 hours and 5 minutes
English – 45 minutes
Math – 60 minutes
10 min break
Reading – 35 minutes
Science – 35 minutes
Future Format
3 Core Sections (English, Math, and Reading)
English and Reading passages will be shorter
There will be 44 less questions, though it is unclear how that will be spread out across the sections
Both the Science and Writing Sections will be Optional
Total Time: ~ 2 hours
Breakdown per section is unknown
Exam Scoring
Current Scoring
4 Sections, each scored out of 36, that are then averaged together
Example:
English - 28
Math – 25
Reading – 22
Science – 32
Would result in a “composite” or average score of 26.75 which would round up to a 27
Future Scoring
3 Sections, each scored out of 36, that are then averaged together
Example:
English - 28
Math – 25
Reading – 22
Would result in a “composite” or average score of 25. It appears that you will also be able to add in your science score to your score report if you take the exam with the science section.
Exam Topics
Check out my overviews of each ACT® section below:
Key Things to Know
The test format is changing. Scroll up to the beginning of this section to review the incoming changes.
The current version of the ACT® is definitely more fast-paced than the SAT®. That does not make it harder. In fact, in my experience, many students like the ACT® more because of the variation of the questions and the fact that you get 4 separate scores that average together, unlike 2 for the SAT®
2024-2025 Test Dates
September 14, 2024
October 26, 2024
December 14, 2024
February 8, 2025
April 2025 - TBD
June 2025 - TBD
July 2025 - TBD*
*FYI for New York State Students and Parents – the July test has historically not been offered in New York
Section 3 – Are schools really requiring test scores again?
The short answer is – yes – some are. Here is the most up to date list of colleges that will be requiring the SAT/ACT for the Class of 2025.
For Class of 2026 students/parents, here are a few things to know about test scores:
Colleges change their admission policies ALL THE TIME. Because of this, it would probably be a good idea to sit/have your child sit for at least one ACT® or SAT® exam, and monitor the admissions policies of schools they intend to apply to.
In a test optional world, getting a good ACT® or SAT® score can be a great asset to have when applying, especially when compared against similar applicants with no test score.
Last Note - If you have any questions about the ACT®, SAT®, or if you just want to get you child a tutor for the exam, feel free to email me at brianwright913@gmail.com. If I have space, I would be thrilled to tutor you or your child for either test myself, or I can try and help find a tutor that better suits the needs of the situation.
