The ACT and PreACT dates are just on the horizon, with sophomore and juniors set to take it in just a few weeks, on March 25. These statewide tests can be a difficult burden to shoulder, but there are plenty of ways to prepare ahead of time.
One way is to sign up for an earlier national ACT test date, available prior to the official state ACT. The soonest is scheduled for Feb. 8, with regular registration ending Jan. 3, and late registration Jan. 24.
This is far from the only opportunity to take the ACT, before or after the mandatory date in March. Pictured here are the alternative dates for 2025. They can also be found at the following site, along with accompanying fees: https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/registration.html
Renee Mead, PLSHS counselor and ACT coordinator since 2003, shed some light on the process of registering for the ACT, no matter what the date.
“No matter if students are going to be taking it on the state exam day, or if they’re going to take it on a Saturday, all registration is done online through a MyACT account,” Mead explained. “If we have some students that are planning to take the ACT on a Saturday in the future, by creating the account … they can log into the same account and get registered for any future tests.”
Taking the ACT prior to the official date can have a big benefit, including giving students an idea for how they may score in each section of the test, so they can better prepare for future retakes. Though these resources are not completely free, they can be useful.
“They’ll be able to see – ‘Where am I scoring well? Where am I scoring the lowest? What kind of practice do I need to take?’ – because they’re probably going to take the ACT again in the summer and or the fall,” Mead said.
Doing only the state ACT is not bad however, Mead explained; being unhappy with a score isn’t the end. “In the summer there is a June or July test, and then in the fall there’s September, October, December. So even after the state exam in March, there’s still like at least five different opportunities for students to retake the ACT to improve their score.”
The ACT can often be seen as a make-or-break moment for many students, especially those with high career aspirations. Even so, students have many opportunities to get the ACT right, even if it takes several tries to do so.
