支持增强ACT考试成绩解释的初步证据

ACT Research | Research Report | June 2025 1 Initial Evidence Supporting Interpretations of Scores from the Enhanced ACT Test Jeff Allen and Ty Cruce Introduction The ACT® test has evolved to better meet the needs of students. The changes to the test are designed to help students do the following: •perform their best on test day•have the flexibility and choice to determine how they will test•demonstrate their true capabilities and potential•tailor their testing experience to fit their future goals and highlight their strengthsSupporting this evolution, two versions of the ACT test were administered during the June 2024 national test date: the legacy ACT test and a new, enhanced ACT test. At all test centers that administered the test online, students who tested during that national test date were randomly assigned to take one of the two versions of the test, and scores from either version were eligible for college reporting. Like the legacy test, the enhanced test includes multiple-choice tests in English, math, reading, and science. The enhanced test is shorter than the legacy test and allows more time per test question (item). The enhanced test also includes embedded field test items, which are not counted in students’ scores. A comparison of the legacy and enhanced test specifications is provided in Table 1. In addition to the changes to the number of items and time allowed, there are additional differences in the test design for the enhanced test. For more details on test design, please see the Design Framework for the ACT Enhancements (ACT, 2025). © 2025 by ACT Education Corp. All rights reserved. | R2425ACT Research | Research Report | June 2025 2 © 2025 by ACT Education Corp. All rights reserved. | R2425 Table 1. Enhanced and Legacy ACT Test Specifications Test Section Scored items Field test items Total items Number of minutes allowed Enhanced ACT English 40 10 50 35 Math 41 4 45 50 Reading 27 9 36 40 Science 34 6 40 40* Total 142 29 171 170 Legacy ACT English 75 0 75 45 Math 60 0 60 60 Reading 40 0 40 35 Science 40 0 40 35 Total 215 0 215 175 Note. *For the June 2024 administration of the enhanced ACT, 45 minutes was allotted for the science test. In this report, we summarize some of the evidence supporting interpretations of scores from the enhanced ACT. We focus on reliability, concurrent validity, predictive validity, and score comparability. Other important evidence for supporting interpretations of scores from the enhanced ACT that are not covered in this report include alignment to state content standards, alignment to expectations for college and career readiness, student perceptions after testing, and other psychometric evidence (e.g., linking study design, standard error of measurement, evaluation of population invariance of equating results, and timing/speededness). For more details on these and other topics, please see the Design Framework for the ACT Enhancements (ACT, 2025) and the Enhanced ACT Linking Study Report (Li,