The ACT and PreACT dates are just on the horizon, with sophomores and juniors heading down to take the state ACT on March 25th, in just a few months. It can be a difficult burden to shoulder, but there are plenty of ways to prepare for the ACT ahead of time.
One of these ways is the national ACT tests, which are available prior to the official state ACT. The soonest one is scheduled for February 8th, with registration for it having ended on January 3rd, and the late registration deadline being January 24th.
Though this has already passed, this is far from the only opportunity to take the ACT, before and after the mandatory date in March. Pictured below are the alternative ACT dates for 2025. They can also be found here, along with the accompanying fees: https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/registration.html
Renee Mead, a PLSHS counselor and the ACT coordinator since 2003, sheds some light on the process of registering for the ACT, regardless of 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 quite a bit of benefit, including giving students an idea for how they may score in each section of the test, so they can better prepare for it in the future. 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.” Mead said.
Doing only the state ACT is not bad however, Mead explains; being unhappy with the 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.”
For students, the ACT can often be seen as a make or break moment, especially for those with high career aspirations. Even so, students have many opportunities to get the ACT right by taking advantage of the established dates, allowing them to take it again before and after the official test.
