The Impact of the Enhanced ACT® Test on State Readiness Indicators

When the Enhanced ACT® test was fully rolled out, national conversations focused on student wellness, highlighting a shorter testing day and an optional Science section. However, this rollout contained  more subtle and complex implications that may have been missed. Because scoring changed, the college and career readiness indicators that are used for graduation requirements or school and district accountability may be affected despite student performance remaining unchanged. This not only changes where your school or district might land, but it also makes using historical data more difficult.

How Structural Changes Are Shifting Students’ Final Scores

When your readiness data comes back, the numbers will look different. This is not just because the test is shorter; it is because both the scoring formula and the internal mechanics of the exam have fundamentally changed. To understand what is actually driving your students’ scores, district leaders must account for four major variables that are actively altering student performance metrics.

• • The 3-Subject Composite Calculation: The single most consequential change for district accountability is the shift to a 3-subject Composite score. Because the Composite is now an average of only English, Math, and Reading, the exclusion of the Science section changes the baseline. For students whose historical strength was Science, dropping that score from the average lowers their overall Composite, potentially pushing them below a district’s CCR accountability threshold. Conversely, students historically weighed down by the Science section may see an artificial lift in their Composite score. To look at your 2025 readiness numbers and apply them cleanly to 2026 and beyond, districts must recalculate historic baseline data using this new formula to understand where their CCR metrics truly stand in a direct comparison.
  • Math Guessing Probabilities: The Math section reduced answer choices from five to four (A-D). While this reduces student decision fatigue, it critically increases the probability of correct random guessing from 20% to 25%. For students on the borderline of math proficiency, this structural shift can subtly lift aggregate district math readiness scores.
  • Embedded Experimental Items: The separate, unscored fifth section has been eliminated. Experimental field-test items are now seamlessly embedded within the scored sections. Because students do not know which questions count, maintaining testing stamina across the entire exam remains critical. If students hit a wall of fatigue on unscored items, it will accurately suppress their performance on the scored items that dictate their readiness indicator.
  • Guaranteed Item Types: The English section now guarantees exactly one argumentative essay passage, and the Science section (where mandated) guarantees at least one engineering and design thinking passage. Because these highly specific, cognitively demanding tasks are now a permanent fixture, a student’s overall proficiency is directly tied to their ability to handle rhetorical analysis and design reasoning. If a cohort struggles with these specific passage formats, it will reliably pull down their section scores and suppress the district’s overall readiness average.
  • Maintaining Science Instruction: Although the Science section of the test is now not counted in the typical composite score and is optional, students across the country are still tested on science at the high school level. Even if the science section on the ACT® test is now not important for high school accountability, science instruction that leads to performance on a summative exam in high school will still be important. For some states, the science section of the ACT® test will actually satisfy this requirement.

State-Specific Readiness Requirements

The practical effects on readiness indicators vary depending on how your state integrates the ACT® test into its accountability framework. Below is a comprehensive look at how states that mandate the exam are adapting to the new format.

Action Steps for Schools and Districts

To protect and improve readiness indicators under this new framework, districts need to adjust their operational and instructional strategies.

• Recalculate Cohort Baselines: Run retrospective calculations on the previous year’s 11th-grade cohort using the new 3-subject Composite formula. This tells you how students in past years would have done with the new calculation, so that you can compare historical data to current and future years.
• Update Benchmark Testing: Adjust local practice tests and pacing guides to align with the shorter 131-question format. Ensure math diagnostics reflect the 4-choice (A-D) structure to build authentic test stamina and accurately measure proficiency under the new guessing probabilities.
• Potentially Adjust for Science Changes: District leaders need to weigh exactly how the new Science format affects their local accountability reality. If your state still requires the Science section for ESSA compliance, or if your students rely on it for STEM scholarships, you’ll need to communicate clearly with building-level staff that science prep remains a priority. Conversely, if your state doesn’t mandate it, this is the perfect time to evaluate if, and how, your science instruction or readiness testing strategies should shift.

Adjusting Practice Materials with Progress Learning

When readiness indicators change, your practice materials must change with them to provide accurate data. Progress Learning is a Preferred Test Prep Provider of the ACT® test, meaning we bring Officially Licensed ACT® content directly inside our web-based platform. Here is how our tools help districts align with the new testing realities:

• Mirror The New Test Format: Our prep program for the ACT® test includes over 7,000 official items sourced from 33 past ACT® test papers. This allows schools to build practice assessments that perfectly replicate the new 131-question core format, the 4-choice math structure, and embedded item designs.
• Empower Students With Targeted Practice: Once you recalculate your baselines and identify readiness gaps, teachers can assign targeted, standards-aligned practice. Additionally, high school students can manage their own focus areas through individualized Study Plans, allowing them to take ownership of their learning and target specific weaknesses to reach the new composite scoring thresholds.
• Expand Alternative Readiness Pathways: For students who need alternative indicators to meet state graduation mandates, our College and Career Readiness suite goes beyond the ACT® test. We provide comprehensive preparation for WorkKeys®, ASVAB, and TSIA2, ensuring every student has a supported pathway to meet your district’s accountability requirements.

You cannot control how readiness formulas change, but you can control how your district prepares for them. Get in contact with us below by scheduling a demo to see how your school can benefit from Progress Learning today.