ACT Science Is Now Optional: Should You Still Take It?
· 4 min read
The biggest change on the Enhanced ACT is one that doesn't affect most people's composite at all: Science became optional, and left the composite entirely.
That changes the decision from "how do I stop Science dragging me down" to "is this worth my time at all."
On the Enhanced ACT the composite averages English, Math and Reading only. Science is optional, reported as its own 1–36 score, and cannot move your composite in either direction.
See whether Science is worth your time
On the Enhanced ACT, Science is no longer in the composite. Find out what your composite actually is, and which of the three sections that count is costing you most. About three minutes, no account.
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Should you take it?
Take Science if:
- A school on your list asks for it — check each one, policies vary
- You're applying to a STEM program, engineering or nursing
- Science is a strength and you want another strong number on the report
- You're unsure about your list and want to keep options open
Skip Science if:
- Nothing on your list requires it
- It has historically been your weakest section
- You'd rather put the preparation time into the three sections that decide your composite
The old reason to worry about Science — "it's pulling my composite down" — no longer exists. It can't pull your composite anywhere.
The one real argument for taking it: you can't un-take it later. If you're unsure about your college list, sitting Science once keeps the option open at essentially no cost to your composite.
If you take it: what the section is
| Questions | 40 (34 scored, 6 field-test) |
| Time | 40 minutes |
| Per question | ~60 seconds |
| Passages | Roughly 6–7 |
| In composite? | No |
Despite the name, this is mostly a data interpretation section. Charts, graphs, experimental setups, and occasionally two scientists disagreeing. Only a small number of questions need outside knowledge, at about general high-school level.
See the Science conversion table →How to work the section
Go to the questions first. More than any other section, Science rewards this. The passages contain far more information than you'll be asked about, and reading them thoroughly is the most common way to run out of time.
Read the axes and units before anything else. A surprising share of misses are reading the right graph wrongly — wrong axis, wrong units, wrong trend line.
Look for direction, not precision. Most questions ask whether something increases, decreases, or stays flat. You rarely need an exact value.
Save the conflicting-viewpoints passage for last. It's the most reading-heavy and the least chart-driven, so it's the slowest per point.
Don't get drawn into the science. You don't need to understand the experiment. You need to read what it reported.
Pacing
About a minute per question, six or seven passages in 40 minutes — roughly 5–6 minutes each. Check the clock after every second passage.
If you're running out of time, scan for the keyword in the question and match it against the chart. Never leave a blank; there's no penalty for a wrong answer.
Find out where your points actually are
A projected score for every section, so you can see whether Science is worth your time — or whether English, Math and Reading need it more.
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Practising for it
Because Science is really a data-interpretation section, the practice that moves it is reading charts under time rather than reviewing science content. Work timed passages, go straight to the questions, and review every miss by asking which part of the figure you read wrongly.
Official ACT practice tests are good raw material here. So is anything that explains why a miss happened rather than just marking it wrong — that is the part that changes the next attempt.
Related
Frequently asked questions
Is the ACT Science section optional?
Yes. On the Enhanced ACT, Science is an optional section and is excluded from the composite, which is now the average of English, Math and Reading only. If you take Science it is reported as its own 1–36 score alongside the composite.
Should I take the ACT Science section?
Take it if a school on your list asks for it, if you are applying to a STEM program, or if Science is a genuine strength worth showing. Skip it if nothing on your list requires it and you would rather spend the preparation time on the three sections that decide your composite.
Does ACT Science affect your composite score?
No. On the Enhanced ACT the composite averages English, Math and Reading only. A strong Science score cannot raise your composite and a weak one cannot lower it — which removes the old worry about Science dragging a score down.
How many questions are on ACT Science?
40 questions in 40 minutes, of which 34 are scored. The other six are unscored field-test items. That gives you about a minute per question across roughly six or seven passages.
Do you need to know science to do well on ACT Science?
Far less than the name suggests. Most questions test whether you can read charts, graphs and experimental descriptions accurately. A small number require outside knowledge at roughly a general high-school level — the rest is data interpretation under time pressure.