The ACT announced on Oct. 8 that testing rules were in the process of being changed. As of Sept. 2020, students will be allowed to retake individual sections as a way to improve their scores without having to sit through the entire exam again.

“We’re mission driven. This is about the students We’re excited to see how these new options will help students reach their maximum potential,” Mary Michael Pontzer, Vice President of ACT said in a statement.

The responses to the new rules have varied.
“I think it will positively affect my studying because after I take it for the first time, I can think back and study more based off of what I struggled with the first time,” junior Sheyla Romero said.

The stress and anxiety that come along with test taking standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT will decrease with these new rules.
“The new rules help to lower the stress level of students, like myself, taking these test that essentially determined our future,” junior Rachel Nguyen said. “I can go in with the mindset that I can try my best and if I am not happy with my outcome on a certain part I am able to retake it.”

Students are taking advantage of these changes as a way to balance creating healthier studying habits and also being able to do well on the exam.
“On the one hand, this change could potentially lower the anxiety students feel in the college admissions testing process. Students will feel less pressure on any given day they take the exam because they’ll know that they can retake individual sections in the future,” said Nick Standlea, president of Test Prep Gurus, a local test prep program among students. “On the other hand, every time a testing agency changes its exam, there are unintended consequences.”