LEGACY ACT PAPER TEST

ACT has made one Legacy practice test available online. Here is the link to the PDF. The answer key (NOT solutions) is at the end of the PDF.

Download an ACT Bubble Sheet.

Download an ACT Practice Test.

ENHANCED ACT ONLINE TEST

ACT has made one digital test available online. This has the same questions as the paper test below. Practice.

ENHANCED ACT PAPER TEST

ACT has made one paper test available online. This has the same questions as the digital test above. Practice.

Clearly, one test is not enough. Use the following instructions to adapt and use legacy paper tests as practice for the Enhanced ACT.

How To Adapt The Official ACT Prep Guide 2024-2025 (NOT 2025-2026) Legacy Tests For Use As Enhanced ACT Tests

"Legacy ACT"
The expiring 2-hour 55-minute ACT. The *paper* tests on June 14 and July 12 are the last 2 administrations of this longer test. There is no ACT in August.

"Enhanced ACT"
The new 2-hour 5-minute ACT. The online ACT is already in this Enhanced format. In September, the paper ACT will transition permanently to this Enhanced format.

"The Official ACT Prep Guide"
The big red book that the ACT publishes every year.

USE This Edition
The 2024-2025 edition of the guide is good, but its tests are in the expiring Legacy format, so parents should modify them before using them for the Enhanced ACT.

AVOID This Edition
The 2025-2026 edition of the guide has fewer tests and fewer questions than its predecessor. And it has significant errors. Until ACT publishes a revised edition, skip the 2025-2026 edition and use the 2024-2025 edition. Yes, even for the Enhanced ACT.

How? Modify the tests in the 2024-2025 edition for the Enhanced ACT.

Specifically, parents, NOT students, should complete these steps. If the student makes these modifications, there is no point in taking the test anymore - you may as well discard the scores.

A. Use a modified bubble sheet
B. Use correct time allocations
C. Reduce the question count
D. Update the grading methodology and grade the test
E. Use a modified curve and calculate the composite score

Read the below instructions all the way through before you start. (You may need an aspirin. You will make it out alive. But only just.)

Legacy Tests To Use For The Enhanced ACT
1. Print or use directly any of the 8 Legacy tests from the 2024-2025 edition.
2. You may also download this Legacy practice test.

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A. Use A Modified Bubble Sheet
We adapted a Legacy bubble sheet for the Enhanced ACT. Download and print this Enhanced ACT Bubble Sheet.

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B. Use Correct Time Allocations
The regular time allocation for each Enhanced ACT section is given below. If your student has testing accommodations, adjust the time allocations accordingly. For example, if your student has time and a half, multiply each regular time allocation by 1.5.

  • English: 35 min
  • Math: 50 min
  • Reading: 40 min
  • Science: 40 min

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IMPORTANT: Parents should proctor every practice test.
In our experience, students who self-administer practice tests have NEVER achieved these scores on official tests. The ACT is an unforgiving test, so lax administration, proctoring, grading, and scoring of practice tests WILL hurt preparation, delay progress, and compromise the official test score. For example, your student SHOULD NOT KNOW beforehand which questions you plan to skip when grading. But you knew that.

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C. Reduce The Question Count
The number of questions for each Enhanced ACT section is given below.

  • English: 50 questions
  • Math: 45 questions
  • Reading: 36 questions
  • Science: 40 questions

So make these modifications.

  • English
    Student answers questions 1-50 only. Student skips questions 51-75.
    Before administering the test, the parent should lightly cross out questions 51-75.     
  • Math
    Student skips questions 1-15. Student answers questions 16-60 only.
    Before administering the test, the parent should lightly cross out questions 1-15.
    Note: The Enhanced ACT has only 4 multiple choices per question, but it is not feasible to prune the multiple choices down to 4. Stay with 5 multiple choices.     
  • Reading
    Student skips questions 10, 20, 30, and 40. Student answers the other 36 questions.
    Before administering the test, the parent should lightly cross out questions 10, 20, 30, and 40.     
  • Science
    Student answers all 40 questions.

Unused Questions: After the parent grades the test, the student should attempt each crossed-out question. Because every question is valuable.

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D. Update The Grading Methodology And Grade The Test
ACT has introduced the concept of field test items in each of the 4 sections. Briefly, this means that ACT uses some questions from each section for research. Yes, these questions will NOT count toward the student's section score. However, the student will NOT know which questions go ungraded. We mimic this methodology below.

Before grading the student's bubble sheet, the parent should use the instructions below to determine which questions NOT to grade. Do NOT cherry-pick these questions based on the student's performance - this defeats the purpose of getting an unbiased score.

  • English
    Of the 50 questions, skip 10 questions at random. Grade the other 40 questions.     
  • Math
    Of the 45 questions, skip 4 questions that are roughly equidistant from each other, like 10, 20, 30, and 40. Or 9, 19, 29, and 39. Grade the other 41 questions.     
  • Reading
    Of the 36 questions, pick 1 of the 4 passages at random and skip ALL 9 questions in this passage. Grade the other 27 questions. (Yes, this is consistent with ACT's scoring methodology.)     
  • Science
    Of the 40 questions, skip 6 questions at random. Grade the other 34 questions.

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E. Use A Modified Curve And Calculate The Composite Score
The parent should use this Enhanced ACT Curve to score the student's test.

Once you have determined the scaled section scores out of a maximum of 36, average the English, Math, and Reading section scores to get the composite score. (Remember that the Science section is optional.)

For the composite score, .33 rounds down, .66 rounds up. A 27.33 average score rounds down to a 27 composite. A 27.66 average score rounds up to a 28 composite.

Psst. You okay there? Need smelling salts?