New Writing Test Will Give Students, Colleges Options

At ACT, we have always considered it our primary mission to offer responsive services to postsecondary institutions by providing information they need and want. Surveys of postsecondary institutional practices have revealed that one-third of our nation’s postsecondary institutions already have a direct writing assessment in place on their campuses; an additional one-third appear to be satisfied with the information they are currently receiving; and the remaining one-third are interested in learning more about a new standardized measure of direct writing. By offering the ACT Writing Test as an option to postsecondary institutions, we are acknowledging their diverse needs with a flexible solution.

Postsecondary institutions will be able to decide whether to require the results from the ACT Writing Test for admissions and/or course placement purposes. Students will decide whether to take the Writing Test based on the requirements of the institutions they are considering. Students will not have to take tests they do not need and institutions will have the freedom to require the tests that best meet their information needs.

ACT has more than 25 years of experience developing and administering writing assessments. In developing the ACT Writing Test, we are following the same methodology we have used for the other tests in the ACT Assessment. The process begins with an inclusive, broad-based curriculum survey of the nation’s high schools and colleges to determine the writing skills that are being taught in high school and those expected of first-year college students. Like the other tests in the ACT Assessment, the Writing Test will be a technically sound assessment, delivered in a standardized testing environment, and scored with high accuracy.