ACT to Offer Optional Writing Component on College Entrance Exam

August 27, 2002

IOWA CITY, Iowa —ACT will offer an optional writing component with its national ACT Assessment beginning in the 2004-2005 school year, officials at the organization's Iowa City headquarters announced today. Rather than making a writing test mandatory, ACT has decided to provide postsecondary institutions a choice whether to recommend the traditional ACT Assessment or the ACT Assessment Plus Writing.

The addition of an optional writing component follows a move by the University of California (UC) system to require a writing sample of students seeking admission. ACT previously indicated that it would add a writing component to the ACT Assessment for students applying to the UC system, also beginning in the fall of 2004. The Board of Regents in California is expected to make a final decision on admissions reform later this year. Besides the addition of the writing component, no other changes will be made to the current ACT Assessment since it already meets the requirements of the University of California and other postsecondary institutions.

"There are two primary reasons why we thought it important to provide choice with our college entrance exam," said ACT Chief Executive Officer Richard L. Ferguson. "We absolutely agree that it's important that students write well, and we believe it is important to acknowledge the varying needs and requirements of postsecondary institutions across the U.S. Our consultation with colleges and universities indicates that not all institutions want or need a writing assessment as part of the ACT Assessment. Many institutions already offer, and prefer, their own writing assessments on campus. Equally important, we do not feel comfortable requiring students to pay a higher fee for testing they may not need, depending upon the admissions requirements at the schools to which they apply."

ACT scores are accepted by virtually all colleges and universities across the nation. The ACT Assessment is the only national admissions test designed specifically as a curriculum-based achievement exam that measures the skills students have learned in school, and the skills they need for first-year college-level coursework. The ACT Assessment, which includes achievement tests in English, reading, mathematics and science, is used widely for admissions and course placement.

Although the ACT Assessment does not currently include a writing component, ACT has more than 25 years experience developing and administering other writing assessments. In developing the writing assessment, ACT will use the same methodology used for the other four tests in the ACT Assessment: an inclusive, broad-based curriculum survey of the nation's high schools and colleges to determine the writing skills that are taught in high school and the skills expected of first-year college students. The writing assessment will be extensively field tested prior to its introduction in the 2004-2005 school year.