The ACT, the standardized test used mainly for college admissions, is implementing new rules that could reduce its stressful reputation and result in better scores. Beginning next September, students will no longer need to retake the entire test when trying to improve their score; instead they will have the opportunity to retake individual sections. The test is comprised of five sections: english, math, science, reading and an optional writing portion. If a student scores significantly worse on math, they will be able to retake just the math section in order to save time and reduce the risk of lowering their score on different sections. Vicki Londer, head of the counseling department, said she is nervous about what colleges are going to do in response to the new rules. 

“If ACT is going to superscore automatically now, colleges are going to up their minimum requirements for admissions and for their major scholarships,” Londer said.

Although Londer is nervous, she said many good things could come from the new changes.

“The benefit could be that more colleges don’t use ACT for admissions or for scholarship requirements,” Londer said. “They could just use a more holistic approach, [like] course rigor, teacher recommendations, activities and essays that they base their decisions on.”

Londer said that she thinks this change could be an advantage for many kids.

“I think for students with anxiety and students that don’t test well in general, it will be a great benefit for them,” Londer said.

Senior Sam Howdle said she thinks the new change is a great idea, but could bring up some trouble for colleges.

“It might be a little more difficult for colleges to accept through the ACT,” Howdle said. “Because people can retake until they get the score they want.”