For current 11th graders, Compass recommends choosing the SAT or the current ACT, as the staggered rollout of changes from April 2025 into 2026 compromises the new ACT for the class of 2026.
By the start of 11th grade, most college-bound students will have begun developing their standardized testing roadmap for the year ahead. An optimized testing plan will:
- Use baseline diagnostics to reveal whether the SAT or ACT is a better fit
- Allow for at least one retest (superscoring) opportunity
- Schedule enough time to prepare adequately for the student’s preferred test
- Ensure access to an abundant amount of reliable practice material for preparation
- Produce scores that are universally accepted and competitive at target colleges
The class of 2026 will encounter three tests over the coming year: the digital SAT, the current ACT, and the new ACT that will roll out in stages in 2025.
This table evaluates how well the three tests satisfy the criteria of an ideal testing plan:
To expand on these criteria, let’s tour the pathways for each test from the perspective of students in the class of 2026:
PATHWAY #1: TAKE THE SAT.
The digital, adaptive SAT that debuted in March 2023 has reached a steady state. In October, students will be offered the PSAT, a reliable baseline diagnostic exam. Compass also offers full-length diagnostic PSAT and SAT exams with detailed score reports, on-demand.
Although SAT capacity is still impacted in some regions, the test will be administered on all national weekend test dates and through weekday School Day testing where available. We strongly recommend registering ASAP and reserving at least two official sittings.
Students can then easily tailor their SAT prep around their full-year schedule and desired test dates. Test preparation for the PSAT and SAT will be consistent and apply to all official SAT exams.
For test prep material, College Board and private test prep companies like Compass have plenty of high quality resources, including additional practice testing.
Finally, students can trust that their SAT score will be universally accepted across the college admissions landscape wherever test scores are required or considered.
Conclusion: if a student is comfortable with the SAT and can find a seat, this is the cleanest testing pathway for the class of 2026.
PATHWAY #2: TAKE THE CURRENT ACT.
The current ACT is offered in two formats: online and paper. The content and structure is identical, but there are two form factors from which to choose.
Note: Before choosing the online version of the ACT, students must confirm that they can register for a test site that offers online testing. Unlike the (now digital) SAT which allows students to test on their own device, the online ACT must be administered on computers provided by the host. This mechanical requirement limits the availability of online ACT options at national sites. Therefore, most online ACTs are taken through School Day administrations.
The good news is that students will have plenty of diagnostic exams available to them. The PreACT is to the ACT what the PSAT is to the SAT. If a student’s high school does not offer the PreACT, Compass provides full-length diagnostic ACT exams, in both formats, on-demand.
However, the format (online vs. paper) becomes a complicated matter as a student continues further down the ACT pathway in this transitional year. Both formats of the current ACT will be phased out at different points during the class of 2026’s testing period, and the exact timing and number of available test dates will depend on whether or not a student’s high school offers School Day testing.
This dizzying matrix of restrictive conditions is important for students and their testing advisors to work through for students who prefer the ACT. We summarize the wind-down of the current ACT in this chart:
Plenty of high-quality test prep material exists for the current ACT, and scores from the current ACT will be universally accepted across the college admissions landscape wherever test scores are required or considered.
Conclusion: as long as a student is clear on when the last chance to take their preferred format of the current ACT will occur, they can craft their test prep timelines by backcasting from that final date. If a student then chooses to retake the ACT once the current test is no longer offered, they will need to shift to the new ACT. Compass sees this as a smooth process, since most of the previous preparation will apply to the new test. Some calibration to changes in question types and pacing will be necessary, but this is a safe pathway for those who wish to avoid the SAT.
PATHWAY #3: WAIT FOR THE NEW ACT.
ACT’s announced changes1 may initially sound appealing and worth the wait—fewer questions, science made optional, and a less hurried pace—but the staggered and deferred timing of the rollout is suboptimal for the class of 2026. The potential benefits of the overhaul are more aligned with the normal testing timeline for the class of 2027.
A reform of this magnitude also runs the risk of delays and modifications from the original promise. Indeed, we have seen ACT walk back plans for other significant changes in recent years, so we’d be wary about building a testing strategy that relies on their projected rollout timeline.
As a practical matter, the gradual rollout of the new ACT will prevent this pathway from being a viable option for many class of 2026 students anyway, due to a lack of access to test sites on optimal or critical dates. This chart illustrates the planned schedule for unveiling the new ACT:
It is inevitable that a large percentage of the class of 2026 will avoid the new ACT, either by circumstance or by choice. Only those who can secure a) a domestic seat for b) an online test on c) a national date (and remember, the host site must be able to provide a computer for each test-taker) will have the opportunity to access the new ACT in 11th grade (and not until April.) Those who plan to take the new ACT on paper—or online internationally—must wait until September of senior year. Those who plan to take a School Day ACT will not be offered the new ACT that way; the new ACT does not debut for School Day testing until the spring of 2026 (when the class of 2027 is in 11th grade.)
Test prep content and methods for the new ACT will not be drastically different, although there are numerous format and structural changes that will take time to incorporate into resources. And while there will eventually be a deep bank of practice tests developed and made available, they are another important component of preparation that will lag behind.
Finally—and perhaps most importantly—there is still a LOT for colleges to think through regarding the handling of scores from two versions of the ACT during a transition period, especially given that the new version makes optional for test-takers a section (science) that was previously required and calculated in the Composite score for decades. It is highly unlikely that current 11th graders will know the posture and policies their colleges of interest will have towards science while they are in the midst of their preparation.
Compass has separately published extensive analysis2 of the thorniest potential ramifications generated by a significantly altered test. These technical and psychometric effects will demand careful scrutiny by college administrators as they consider making any corresponding updates to their testing policies. In the meantime, Compass strongly recommends that students in the class of 2026 opt in to taking the science section if they end up taking the new ACT at some point.
Conclusion: a variety of factors—timing, access, preparation, and lack of clarity from colleges—leads us to discouraging most of the class of 2026 students from getting distracted by the recently announced ACT changes. There are smoother pathways to satisfying one’s testing goals in the year ahead and we recommend minimizing unnecessary risk and uncertainty from the planning process.
For more information on the New ACT, we encourage you to read our related posts linked below.
