Walking into the testing room, my palms sweating and slowly losing grip on my No. 2 pencils, I can feel all the practice I’ve done slipping away. All I can feel now is the stress, the pressure to get a 36. 

The ACT leaves many kids feeling nervous about their future. This one number will potentially determine what schools they can get into, what scholarships they can receive, and possibly how successful they will be post-high school.

A large number of schools are changing their rules on ACT scores and submissions to relieve stress for students. These same issues have influenced ACT, Inc. to also change their own policies.
Finally, ACT has realized that this test has specific faults and can potentially alter students’ futures. Most students have to take the ACT at least two times; students feel a sense of relief now that they are allowed to retake a specific portion of the test without needing to retake the full test.

Taking the entire ACT more than one time, though it is meant to improve a student’s ACT score, 

Not only is retaking the entire test excessive, but it is also not a cost effective option for a lot of families. This test can range from $46 to $92 and if the student has to take it multiple times, like most do, this can become pretty pricey and can limit students from taking it as many times as they would like to.   

According to the official ACT website, “Beginning with the September 2020 ACT test, these new options offer students more choices, a better experience, and greater confidence that their ACT test scores best reflect their hard work, overall academic achievement, and potential for success throughout their lives.” 

The ACT is making three major changes to their system for the September 2020 test. They are allowing students to retake specific sections of the test, send superscored tests to colleges, and take the test online for quicker test results. 

These changes have many students and parents who will be taking the test after the September 2020 changes ecstatic. However, a large amount of students who took their ACT before these alterations were made are furious that this was not implemented sooner. 

Personally, I believe that these are important changes that needed to be made. However, these alterations should have been implemented a long time ago. Hopefully these changes will take the stress off of students backs and allow them to excel on this test.