One of the most stress-inducing and petrifying parts of being a student in high school is preparing for and taking long standardized tests like the ACT. No matter how much you study for these tests, it all comes down to how quickly you can answer questions, and if you can stay focused for the 195 minutes the test lasts. It’s not a fun test many students want to put themselves through, especially when many colleges and universities aren’t requiring students to report their scores on these tests.

Over the summer, ACT announced they would be implementing many changes to their testing format in 2025. Three of the changes stuck out to me and are most relevant to students taking the test next year. The first change was lowering the total number of questions on the test by 44 and reducing the total time the test takes by 70 minutes, making the test shorter but still giving students an extra 16 seconds per question. Another large change was giving students the option to take the science portion of the test, which had previously been compulsory. Lastly, students who opt to take the science portion of the test will receive a STEM score that includes the science and math portions of the test separate from the normal composite score.

All of the changes mentioned are going to greatly improve the testing experience for many students across the country. Lowering the questions and time on the test is a change I can get behind. Both times I took the test, I found myself constantly looking at the clock to see if I was at a good pace. Even when I was feeling confident with the answers I was marking down, I would always have to rush through the last 5-10 questions due to time. I also hope these time changes will reduce a lot of the stress that comes with having a limited amount of time per question, allowing students to focus less on their ticking mental clock and more on the answers they put on the paper.

Giving students the choice of taking their ACT with or without science is another change that will help students who have specific skill sets. The science section always felt somewhat out of place as it’s a smaller part of many schools’ curriculums (compared to other sections like reading, English and math), and it hurt students who had little interest in studying and pursuing a career in the STEM field. Now, students who plan on pursuing a career outside of STEM won’t have their composite score hurt by their performance in the science section. The STEM score also gives students who are interested in those fields a chance to show off their skills in that section.

All in all, I’m very pleased with the changes coming. These changes were necessary to give students a good reason to participate in these tests. Even though I’ll never be able to see these benefits, I hope the ACT will continue to listen to student feedback in the future and make the test more of a tool to help students rather than a daunting task that many dread taking.