The New ACT Format (2025-2026)
Starting in Spring 2025, the ACT is introducing significant changes, including making the Science section optional. This aligns the ACT more closely with the SAT, which has never had a dedicated science section.
How is the "No Science" ACT Scored?
Traditionally, the ACT Composite score was the average of four sections: English, Math, Reading, and Science.
If you choose to skip the Science section, your Composite score will be calculated as the average of your three remaining sections:
(English + Math + Reading) ÷ 3
The result is rounded to the nearest whole number. For example, if your average is 29.5, your score becomes a 30. If it is 29.33, your score remains 29.
What Else Is Changing on the ACT in 2025–2026
Optional Science is the headline change, but it arrives alongside a broader redesign of the ACT. Knowing the full picture helps you decide how to prepare and how to read your new score report:
- Shorter test: The core test (English, Math, Reading) is roughly 2 hours instead of about 3, with fewer questions per section and more time per question.
- Optional Science: Science becomes a separate, optional section. Skip it and your Composite is built from the three core sections only.
- Optional Writing: The essay remains optional, exactly as before, and never factors into your Composite.
- Digital and paper: Students can take the ACT digitally or on paper, with the same scoring scale either way.
- Same 1–36 scale: Each section and the Composite are still reported on the familiar 1–36 scale, so colleges read your score the same way they always have.
Worked Example: How Skipping Science Changes Your Composite
Imagine a student with these section scores: English 31, Math 27, Reading 33, Science 24. Here's how the two formats compare:
| Format | Calculation | Composite |
|---|---|---|
| 4-section (with Science) | (31 + 27 + 33 + 24) ÷ 4 = 28.75 | 29 |
| 3-section (no Science) | (31 + 27 + 33) ÷ 3 = 30.33 | 30 |
For this student, dropping a weak Science score (24) raises the Composite by a full point. The lesson: skipping Science helps only when Science is dragging your average down. If Science were the student's best section, the no-Science Composite would fall instead.
What Happens to the STEM Score?
The ACT also reports a STEM score, which combines Math and Science. If you skip Science, you won't receive a STEM score, because there's no Science result to average with Math. Students targeting engineering, computer science, or pre-med programs should weigh this carefully — a strong STEM score can be a useful signal to admissions readers, and some programs still like to see it.
Should You Skip the Science Section?
- Skip it if: Science is your weakest subject and lowers your overall average. Focusing on the other three could boost your Composite score.
- Take it if: You are applying to STEM programs (Engineering, Pre-Med, Biology) which may still require or strongly prefer seeing a Science or STEM score. Some highly competitive colleges may also prefer the 4-section test until new data is available.
- Check each college's policy: Admissions requirements are still settling. Confirm directly with every school on your list whether a no-Science ACT is accepted before you commit.
Superscoring With the New Format
Superscoring — where a college combines your best section scores across multiple test dates — still applies to the redesigned ACT. Because the Composite is just an average of section scores, you can retake the test and improve one weak section at a time. If you've taken the test more than once, average your best English, Math, and Reading results to estimate your superscored no-Science Composite.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do colleges accept ACT scores without Science?
Starting in Spring 2025, the ACT will allow students to skip the Science section. Colleges are currently updating their policies, but it is expected that most will accept the new format, similar to how they accepted the SAT when it removed the Essay section.
How is the new ACT Composite score calculated?
If you skip the Science section, your Composite score is the average of your English, Math, and Reading scores, rounded to the nearest whole number.
Will skipping Science lower my score?
It depends on your strengths. If Science is your lowest scoring section, skipping it will likely increase your Composite. If Science is your best section, skipping it could lower your overall score.
Compare with SAT
Without the Science section, the ACT structure is very similar to the SAT. You can use the concordance tool below to see how your "No Science" ACT score compares to an SAT score.