New ACT Composite Score: Science Optional Explained

New ACT Composite Score: Science Optional Explained

The ACT's headline score no longer includes science. Since September 2025, every ACT Composite score, whether from a national, international, state, or district test date, has been calculated from English, math, and reading only, according to ACT's Design Framework for the ACT Enhancements. That's the new ACT Composite score in a sentence: science is optional, and the number colleges see is built from three sections instead of the four used in the legacy version of the test.

The shorter ACT format began rolling out on national test dates in 2025. National online testing switched to the new Composite calculation in April 2025, and national paper testing plus all international administrations followed that September, according to ACT's Enhanced ACT FAQs. ACT also says it trimmed total testing time and cut questions compared with the older exam, according to ACT's counselor blog.

Students registering for upcoming test dates are the ones weighing this directly, especially whether to add the now-optional science section. Which sections actually show up on a given test day, and whether a target school wants them, depends on the testing program a student uses and the specific colleges or scholarship programs on that student's list.

What does the new ACT composite score include?

The Composite is now an average of three scale scores, English, math, and reading, instead of the four sections used in the legacy Composite, according to ACT's 2025-26 Preparing for the ACT Test guide. ACT computes it by averaging those three scale scores, according to the same guide.

Science and writing are reported separately as optional scores that don't factor into that average, according to ACT's Design Framework. The scale itself hasn't moved, and scores earned before September 2025 remain as originally reported, per the same Design Framework.

Composite score, section scores, Superscore, and Benchmarks: what's the difference?

ACT's materials use several related terms, and it's easy to mix them up when the number on the page still looks familiar.

Term What it is What it means for a student Composite score Average of English, math, and reading scale scores, reported 1-36, according to the Preparing for the ACT Test guide This is the single number most colleges and scholarship programs will see first Section scores Individual scores for English, math, reading, and, for students who opt in, science and writing A student can take science without it changing the Composite at all Superscore ACT reports a student's highest section scores across test dates, now built on the three-section Composite definition, according to the Design Framework A student retesting to raise a Composite is working with the same three sections each time ACT Benchmarks College-readiness standards; no changes made so far, according to the Design Framework Current benchmark comparisons still apply, though ACT has flagged a possible update later

As an illustration, not an official ACT rule, a student might earn a Composite based only on English, math, and reading results, then separately receive a science score and STEM score if that section was taken. The science result wouldn't move the Composite number either way.

ACT science section optional: what's reported separately?

For national administrations, students can generally choose whether to add science and/or writing to their test date. In state and district testing, the school or testing program decides which optional sections are offered, according to ACT's FAQs. Science and writing aren't bundled; either can be selected on its own.

Students who sit for science still receive a separate science score and STEM score on their reports. ACT sends those scores to institutions and programs that have used them in the past, according to the same FAQs, rather than to every college automatically.

ACT's guide notes that some colleges and universities require or accept ACT science or writing scores, without naming which ones, according to the Preparing for the ACT Test guide. The Composite calculation is already uniform across ACT's national, international, state, and district programs, according to ACT. Which optional sections appear on a given test day still depends on the testing program.

What does "shorter" actually mean?

ACT says students can receive a college-reportable Composite after 125 minutes of testing, according to the Design Framework. The supplied source doesn't specify whether that figure includes breaks or how optional sections factor in, so it shouldn't be read as the full length of every test day.

Timing figure What ACT reports Time to a college-reportable Composite 125 minutes Total test time vs. legacy ACT 75 minutes shorter Total questions vs. legacy ACT 44 fewer questions

Those legacy-comparison numbers come from ACT's student blog and counselor blog. The supplied research doesn't explain exactly how the 125-minute figure and the 75-minute reduction relate to each other, so treat them as two separate data points rather than one continuous schedule.

ACT says the math section now has four answer choices instead of five, according to the counselor blog. English and math saw the most changes to question structure overall, per the FAQs.

ACT presents the shorter format as giving students more time to think through each question, according to its own counselor blog, without citing outside research.

When do the changes apply to a specific test date?

National online testing switched to the new Composite calculation in April 2025, according to the FAQs. National paper testing and all international testing adopted the same change by September 2025, according to ACT's Design Framework.

ACT said the state and district rollout, including the full shortened format, would begin in spring 2026, according to the FAQs. Students in those programs should confirm the format and available sections with their school or district, because the supplied announcement doesn't establish the status of every contract.

The scoring definition and the physical test format are two separate milestones. Every Composite issued since September 2025 uses the three-section calculation, but the shorter timing and reworked question formats reached different testing programs on different schedules.

What should applicants verify before registering?

ACT's FAQ says the three-section Composite shows similar correlations with first-year GPA and with degree or certificate acquisition as the earlier four-section version, based on ACT's own analysis, according to the FAQs. The supplied source doesn't identify an independent study confirming that finding.

ACT has targeted a possible update to its college-readiness Benchmarks sometime in 2026-27, once more outcome data from the redesigned test is available, according to the FAQs.

Before registering for a test date, check ACT's registration page for that specific date to confirm which format and optional sections are offered. Applicants should also confirm each college's, scholarship provider's, or program's current science and writing policy directly, since those requirements can change between admission cycles.