Though the ACT went digital, students still have the option to take the college admissions test with a pencil and paper.
A?CT, a nonprofit organization that develops the test, is the only assessment company that still offers paper, says Juan Elizondo, ACT director of strategic communications.
Students will be anxious on test day, he says, so “letting them choose the mode that fits for them is one way of easing that anxiety and making certain that we’re measuring what they know and not, ‘Are they great on a computer or are they good at bubbling in answer sheets?'”
Here’s what students should know about the different ACT testing options.
Digital vs. Paper ACT
As of September 2025, students taking the digital exam can either use computers at the testing site or bring their own device, which can be a Microsoft Windows, Chromebook or Apple MacBook laptop.
“They go through a process to make sure that they’ve uploaded the secure software and then they go through a checklist to make certain that it’s working properly,” Elizondo says. “All that happens well before testing. That way, they don’t have to be anxious about” if it’s going to work.
[Read: ACT vs. SAT: How to Decide Which Test to Take.]
Whether a student takes the ACT on a computer or with a pencil and paper, the content itself doesn’t change.
“?Students are being assessed on the same skills, they’re getting the same assessment and their results are comparable,” Elizondo says.
The cost and score delivery time are also identical. There’s a $68 fee to take the ACT, with additional costs for the optional sections, including $25 for writing and $4 for science. Fees can be waived for qualifying test-takers, and more than 97% of scores are released two to four weeks after the test date, per ACT’s website, although timing can vary more for students who opt into the writing section.
And “if a student does need some type of accommodation, that’s fully supported across both modes,” Elizondo says. “That’s something for students to be comfortable with, knowing that if they need that for any reason, they can get it.”
Note that on test day, students are placed in rooms based on their chosen format.
“?In terms of the mechanics, their experiences are different so they’re separated,” Elizondo says. “And because we now have students who are opting in or opting out of the science test, those students are also in a different environment because the sequence of events is a little bit different.”
What to Consider When Deciding Between Digital and Paper
Location of Testing Site
A testing site’s infrastructure should be considered when choosing between the paper and digital exam, says Sravani Atluri, chief marketing officer at Edvisors. Technology issues can be disruptive.
[Read: What’s a Good ACT Score for College Admissions]
“There are some environments where because of internet accessibility, paper is most readily available,” Elizondo says. “And students can be confident that there’s not going to be an internet outage. There’s not going to be some kind of issue that interrupts their testing.”
Personal Preference
Since the same skills are tested regardless of how the ACT is taken, the decision often comes down to personal learning and testing preferences, experts say.
Some students, for instance, are “used to reading online, using the digital tools and taking tests on a screen,” says Mike Sison, founder and managing director of Magellan Tutoring, a Virginia-based tutoring service. “So it becomes more of a natural and less-stressful feeling of doing the digital ACT if you’re that type of person.”
Consider if or how you prefer to annotate passages and use a calculator — on paper or digitally, experts say. For instance, paper test-takers use a physical calculator while digital test-takers can choose a physical or built-in calculator.
“It’s not a time to experiment,” Elizondo says. “So if they’ve been using a physical calculator, making certain that they’re using that. If they’ve been practicing and using the built-in calculators, then that’s probably the best mode for them to follow.”
How to Prepare for the ACT
When registering for the test, students should select the date and time that works best for them, Atluri says. A format decision must be made by the late registration deadline, as it can’t be changed on test day.
“The time of the day matters,” she says. “Some students are morning (people). And some students prefer to take the test in the afternoon.”
[Read: How Important Are SAT and ACT Scores in College Admissions?]
Ahead of test day, it’s important to practice in the format you plan to test in, Atluri says.
If taking the exam online, for example, “read long passages on screen, practice scrolling and highlighting, take full-length digital practices,” she says. “The familiarity reduces the stress and gives them the best chance because screen fatigue is a thing. It’s a long test and there’s a lot of questions that they have to answer if they’re not used to it.”
Generally, taking practice tests helps students see where they are so that they can identify areas to work on, Sison says. He also recommends logging the amount of time spent practicing for the exam, such as in a journal, to ease test day anxiety.
“You don’t want to go into the test with the anxiety of, ‘Oh man, I did not prepare for this exam,'” Sison says.
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How to Choose Between the Digital and Paper ACT originally appeared on usnews.com
