ACT Test Prep: ACT Announces Three Additional Fall 2020 National ACT Test Dates!

The ACT wants to ensure that all students who want to take the ACT have plenty of opportunities to do so, especially after the affect of the pandemic on most of the spring and summer 2020 testing dates. That is why the ACT has added three new Fall 2020 national test dates in September and October.

Empty testing classroom for ACT standardized test

Historically, the ACT has offered seven national test dates each calendar year, with one test occurring in each month of February, April, June, July, September, October, and December. This offers high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors plenty of opportunities to take the ACT exam. Many students will elect to take the test more than once, and having so many test dates to choose from allows students to adequately prepare and plan in an effort to perform their best on test day.

Well, 2020 has not been a typical year in any facet, and the ACT is really no different. The global pandemic caused the ACT to cancel the April test date completely this year, as well as many June tests throughout the country, with very few testing centers approved to administer the June exam. The next opportunity for students is the upcoming July exam on Saturday, July 18th, but the high volume of students hoping to finally have an opportunity to test has resulted in full registrations throughout much of the country, leaving numerous students wondering when they’ll finally have an opportunity to actually take the ACT. In addition, many centers have already canceled their July test date as well, making September the next opportunity for students to take the exam.

Students take the ACT for many reasons. Most students will include their ACT scores with college applications and therefore need those scores available to provide for admissions decisions. Other students use ACT scores to help them receive merit-based scholarships, so they might retake the ACT multiple times in hopes of increasing the amount of tuition savings that they receive from a certain school. This is why the ability to take the ACT multiple times has become so important. Students can learn from previous attempts and better their scores with additional tests, and these score increases can make them more competitive during the admissions process and/or help them with cut down costly college tuition. Being able to take the ACT more than once becomes much more difficult when testing centers fill up quickly, leaving several students unable to register.

Well, the ACT is trying to help make sure students do, in fact, have plenty of opportunities to take the official test. For this reason, in addition to their standard September, October, and December national test dates, the ACT has added three more national test dates for fall of 2020.


Fall 2020 ACT National Test Dates:

September

  • Saturday, September 12

  • Saturday, September 19 (NEW)


October

  • Saturday, October 10 (NEW)

  • Saturday, October 17 (NEW)

  • Saturday, October 24

December 

  • Saturday, December 12


Registration for the September and October ACT test dates opens on Monday, August 3rd, and students are encouraged to register early, as test dates are expected to fill up quickly.

Testing centers are required to follow strict public health guidelines as they relate to COVID-19, including social distancing and screening students for symptoms. Testing centers that have been approved to administer the June and July test dates have already implemented these requirements. If testing centers do not meet the requirements outlined by the ACT, they will not be allowed to host ACT exams. Each testing center is being evaluated individually, so students will receive communication regarding the status of their upcoming ACT exam in the weeks leading up to their test date.

As of last summer, ACT had big plans to roll out certain enhancements to the ACT test in the fall of 2020, including the option of retaking individual sections of the exam only. This would allow students to retake only sections that they want to better their scores for rather than retaking the entire exam, which has previously been the only retake option.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of making sure students who need to take the full ACT exam have opportunities to do so, ACT has put these new enhancements on hold. For now, ACT is focusing on supporting students who may not have taken the full ACT exam yet.

ACT wants to remind students and families that situations with COVID-19 can change very quickly, and testing centers may have to cancel their test dates at any time leading up to exam day. ACT is working hard to maintain active communication with students and families regarding tests they are registered for at this time. Families can expect to receive communications via email and can also access important information on the ACT website.

Good luck, and happy studying!

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ACT Test PrepAbby Purfeerst