Students taking the ACT in 2020 will have a new option not previously offered: retake one of the five sections that is included in the ACT. Officials have stated that students can retake and improve their score in one area by retaking a single section at at time, rather than the entire test.

According to U.S News, Suzana Delanghe, ACT chief commercial officer, said “students come first at ACT, and these groundbreaking new options will directly benefit them, providing more choices, an improved testing experience, and a better opportunity to showcase their readiness and reach their maximum potential. With these changes, ACT is evolving to meet students in the digital world in which they live. We want to do a better job of helping them succeed.”

With this opportunity, students will get a ‘superscore,’ which averages the four best subject scores from all ACT attempts. Superscoring has been available since 2017, but will become more available to student’s records in 2020, previously requiring students to retake the entire test. 

“Students already have the ability to retake the test. That’s nothing new, and this will not change that. In fact, the single-section retake will be less expensive than taking the complete ACT again, so that should help make retesting more affordable for many students,” Delanghe told CNN news. 

“I think that using the new system for the ACT can be beneficial,” senior Ally Resa said. “I like the idea of retaking a certain section for whatever area you got wrong the most.” 

ACT also announced that students can test in pencil and paper form or an online version. The online test can show results in two days instead of two weeks. 

“I think the option to retake certain sections is better than just doing a whole thing,” Resa said. “To have it either be online and pencil and paper form is a great option. I think it would offer kids a better option to retake to increase their score.” 

This information was released in a statement on Oct. 8, and the policies will go into place beginning in Sept 2020 for future test takers.