Introducing the Act Assessment Writing Test

For over forty years, the ACT Assessment

®

has distinguished itself as the only comprehensive

measure of educational achievement available to

students for college admissions and course placement

in English, mathematics, reading, and science. In fact,

the ACT Assessment was founded on principles that

value measuring what students have learned in high

school (i.e., achievement) more highly than measuring

their potential to learn (i.e., aptitude). The ACT

Assessment has always reflected the essential

knowledge and skills students are taught in high

school that are important for readiness and success in

postsecondary education, based on empirical results

of ACT’s National Curriculum Survey

TM

conducted

every 3 to 4 years in grades 7–14.

Writing has always been and will continue

to be one of the essential skills for college readiness

and success. The ACT Assessment has always

included a multiple-choice format English Test that

measures students’ understanding of the skills

necessary for effective writing, including usage,

mechanics, sentence structure, logic, organization, and

style, as well as other rhetorical strategies. Research

has documented the effectiveness of ACT English

Test scores in college admissions and course

placement decisions. However, in response to

growing interest in a direct measure of writing, we

have decided to add a 30-minute Writing Test as an

optional component to the ACT Assessment

beginning in 2004–2005.

The ACT Writing Test will provide

postsecondary institutions with information to

complement that already provided by the English

Test. The combined information from both tests will

provide information about students’ understanding of

the conventions of standard written English and their

ability to produce a direct sample of writing.

Why are we offering the Writing Test to

postsecondary institutions as an option? We have

always considered it our primary mission to offer

responsive services to...