The Online ACT: An Equitable Option That Unfortunately Comes at a Price

Billings Central Catholic High School has long required every junior to take the ACT. As students around the world have prepared to take a paper version of the test, the ACT has released an online testing option in an attempt to make the overall testing experience more efficient and equitable. That online testing option is being rolled out in a pilot program throughout the United States. While Central will stick with the paper test this year, the school is preparing to transition to a digital administration of the ACT in the spring of 2024. There are many pros and cons that come with switching to this alternative testing route, but some worry that this new testing platform has the potential to cause a drop in test scores.

Grading physical copies of ACT tests has taken, on average, two to eight weeks, depending on whether or not students take the optional writing section. The new online ACT has eliminated the need for testing centers to process physical copies and instead allows the computer software to grade the test within two days. This is one of the pros of this new online testing experience. However, this upgrade in grading efficiency comes at the cost of comfort and familiarity.

Timing is an issue that students are often plagued with when taking this fast-paced test. Certain sections require test takers to complete 75 questions within 45 minutes. Unlike the standardized paper test, the online version comes with a built-in timer that aims to keep students on pace. It also has a built-in calculator in the math section for those unable to purchase an approved graphing calculator. This is an attempt to provide an equitable testing experience for a diverse range of students across the nation. However, these brand-new testing components can induce anxiety when taking the online ACT for the first time.

With textbooks slowly becoming extinct, easily-accessible materials on iPads, laptops, and Chromebooks have been on the rise. Schools have been issuing electronic devices to students for years. The ACT’s decision to transition to a digital test was centered around the idea that students are already starting to become familiar with taking tests online. However, with hundreds of thousands of juniors who have been prepping for the ACT on paper, this change will be difficult to adjust to. Instead of being able to write or draw on graphs, math problems, and reading passages, test-takers will have to use scratch paper. That may make it more difficult for students to answer certain questions. This new digital test raises the question: will test scores decrease due to the new format?

Aidan Molloy, a junior at Billings Central, said, “I can understand why other people are skeptical, since online is a less tangible thing to test on. I think that scores might drop a little bit.”

Preparing for the ACT can take time, resources, and money, which can be a burden for certain families. Low-income students have historically received lower ACT test scores than those who are able to afford test preparation. Some wonder: is it really fair that colleges base admissions on a test that wealthy students do better on?

While a wide swath of colleges now have test-optional admissions, the ACT isn’t going anywhere. Millions of students continue to take the test each year, and some states, including Montana, even require taking the test as a prerequisite for high school graduation. That means that the test is here to stay at Central, at least for the foreseeable future. Starting next year though, it may just look a little bit different.