July ACT Here to Stay in California

Historically, ACT has offered the July exam date in all states but California and New York. The Truth in Testing Law, meant to keep testing companies transparent, requires that each company release half of all administered exams in a given year. In a majority of states, the law allows testing companies to round down the number of tests released if they administer an odd number of exams. The only two states that require companies to round up are California and New York. To avoid the expensive process of creating, equating, and then quickly burning through new exams, ACT decided to forgo holding a seventh test date (July) in these states. 

When ACT released the available test dates through summer 2020, most were not shocked to see July as an option; many assumed that the extra test date was added due to the mass test cancellations at the start of the pandemic. However, the Truth in Testing law in California changed quietly in 2019 to allow testing companies - as they may in most other states - to round down the number of released tests, meaning the addition of the July test date had been set to start in 2020 regardless of outside circumstances. The good news? This means the July test date is here to stay, giving an additional opportunity to California’s students to sit for an exam. The June test date, previously the last before the fall, often comes at an inconvenient time for sophomores and juniors who are already preparing for AP exams or finals. This new July option opens the door for students that otherwise may be inclined to sit for a test before they’re ready or have to wait until the fall to test, which could impact how well they perform on test day.

Ready to sit for an exam? Register for the ACT here.