Dive Brief:
- One in 3 ACT test-takers in 2026 took the test at least twice, raising their composite score by 1.1 points on average between their first attempt and most recent one, according to an analysis released by the testing organization.
- On the three ACT College and Career Readiness Benchmarks, students retaking the exam rose 7 percentage points on their most recent test compared to their first attempt. They were also 7 percentage points less likely to meet zero benchmarks, ACT reported in its analysis of the high school class of 2026.
- Many states, districts and schools fund retesting, eliminating the need for students to pay out of pocket, according to ACT. Doing so can both help students get into colleges and help districts meet state accountability goals, ACT said.
Dive Insight:
Overall, 1.46 million graduating students took the ACT test at least once between 10th and 12th grade.
According to the ACT analysis, more than three quarters of students in Mississippi and Tennessee took the test more than once. Tennessee and Wyoming have adopted statewide ACT retesting programs aimed at giving students the chance to raise their scores.
In Mississippi, the retakes resulted in more than double the percentage of students meeting all three ACT benchmarks in their last latest attempts compared to their first try. In Tennessee and Wyoming, the statewide retesting programs increased students' between 4 to 6 percentage points.
Overall, 23 states and hundreds of districts offered ACT school-day testing for the class of 2026, which the organization said removes cost and transportation barriers for students.
Data released last year showed that both ACT and SAT participation remains below prepandemic levels.
Some 1.38 million students took the ACT in 2025 compared to 1.78 million in 2019, and about 2 million students took the SAT in 2025 versus 2.22 million in 2019, according to separate data released in 2025 by the companies behind the two college entrance exams.
For both tests, 2025 scores fell below those from the prepandemic year of 2019.
However, the high school class of 2026 outperformed on the SAT compared to the previous year’s graduates, according to results released in September by the College Board.
