Overview
ACT Plan serves as the midpoint measure of academic progress in ACT's College and Career Readiness System.
ACT Plan helps 10th graders build a solid foundation for future academic and career success and provides information needed to address school districts' high-priority issues. It is a comprehensive guidance resource that helps students measure their current academic development, explore career/training options, and make plans for the remaining years of high school and beyond.
Whether students are college-bound or plan to enter the workforce directly after high school, ACT Plan can help all students.
Benefits
ACT Plan contains four curriculum-based assessments—English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science—and includes a career exploration component that stimulates students' thinking about future plans and relates personal characteristics to career options.
ACT's 2009 study, Using PLAN to Identify Student Readiness for Rigorous Courses in High School examines the relationship between students' scores on PLAN and their scores on selected AP Exams. In this study, ACT developed new score linkages for AP courses that align in curricular content with the four ACT Plan tests and updated the linkages found in earlier studies. Results from this study show that ACT Plan test scores are good predictors of success in AP courses.
For Students
Taking ACT Plan as a 10th grader is a great way to prepare for the ACT Test—and helps you get ready to succeed in college and beyond! ACT Plan includes four multiple-choice tests: English, Math, Reading, and Science. Your skills in these subjects will make a big difference—in school and, eventually, in your career. Your ACT Plan score report will help identify your strengths and areas where you need improvement.
| Subject | Number of Questions | How Long It Takes |
|---|---|---|
| English | 30 minutes | |
| Usage/Mechanics | 30 | |
| Rhetorical Skills | 20 | |
| Math | 40 minutes | |
| Pre-Algebra/Algebra | 22 | |
| Geometry | 18 | |
| Reading | 25 | 20 minutes |
| Science | 30 | 25 minutes |
Timeline
Following is the process for administering ACT Plan. Questions? Call Customer Services at 1.877.789.2925.
- Order test materials at least four weeks before testing.
- Communicate with parents and students about the benefits of ACT Plan.
- Review the ACT Plan Test Supervisor's Manual and share test administration details with school staff.
- Prepare your students for test day.
- Administer the ACT Plan test as scheduled by school.
- Return answer folders to ACT for scoring. Answer folders must be received at ACT by June 13th in order to be scored.
- Districts will receive district-level reports and copies of school-level reports after the answer document return deadline stated on the online order form.
- Distribute and review student score reports with students and families.
- Share and discuss aggregate data results with staff.
- Develop intervention plans for identified areas of need based on reported data.