ACT, Inc. just announced some updates regarding the June 13, 2020 ACT test date. Over the last month, anxiety and uncertainty have grown in the community of students, parents, and educators. ACT’s silence on the June test date seemed out of step with what was best for students. The college testing and application process is already stressful enough. In contrast, The College Board offered a swift and definitive response to the current coronavirus pandemic. The March, May, and June SAT test dates were canceled a month ago.
June Date Confirmed
ACT confirmed they plan to hold the exam at all available test centers across the US on June 13, 2020. Test centers include local high schools, as private test centers, such as for-profit testing companies. In light of school closures across many of the most populous states in the country, ACT has acknowledged that they will attempt to hold the June 13 test date at these schools. However, they may need to cancel testings at these locations.
This may lead to a strange situation. Some students in some states will be able to take the ACT on June 13, 2020. However, students in other states may not able to do so at any qualified test centers. ACT is offering a June 20, 2020 make-up date to students who are unable to take the test on June 13. Unfortunately, it is very likely that any stay-at-home orders closing school buildings and private test centers on June 13 will also call for the closure of those same facilities on June 20.
September Changes Still Happening
Last year, ACT announced changes to ACT test administration scheduled to begin in September 2020. These changes include allowing students to register for and take a single ACT section, providing that the student had already taken a full ACT at least once. A less well-known announcement was that students would be able to take the ACT as a computer-based test. Both of these planned changes are still on schedule. ACT has clearly stated that they are not prepared to roll them out earlier.
Additionally, ACT is prepared to allow students to take the ACT from home this fall. This is a backup plan if testing center options are not available due to the pandemic. While it seems reasonable that such an option might be available for the September test date, ACT has played coy, claiming that at-home testing will be available some time this fall or winter.
Prep for June
The June ACT Test date stands for now. ACT, Inc., however, has reserved the right to cancel or reschedule the test any time between now and June 13. ACT has announced that they will start listing testing centers that have closed starting the week of May 26. Until then, we are all stuck in the same position that we were in before the announcement: planning for the June 13 test date, but expecting the worst.