How does the enhanced ACT Reading section differ from the legacy version, and what stays the same?
Legacy versus enhanced ACT Reading: the legacy section had 40 questions in 35 minutes as four passages of about 10 questions each; the enhanced section has about 36 questions in 40 minutes in several parts with slightly shorter passages, rolled out online in spring 2025 and on paper in spring 2026, with the same skills and 1 to 36 scale.
How the enhanced ACT Reading section differs from the legacy version: 36 questions in 40 minutes versus 40 in 35, several parts versus a fixed four-passage block, slightly shorter passages, the spring 2025 and spring 2026 rollout, and what stays the same.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this skill is asking
ACT replaced its long-running test with an enhanced version, and the Reading section changed with it. If you are studying from older materials, you need to know exactly what is different so you practice the right thing. The headline: the legacy ACT Reading section had 40 questions in 35 minutes, organized as four passages of about 10 questions each, one per subject area. The enhanced section has about 36 questions in 40 minutes, built from several parts of varying length with slightly shorter passages. ACT rolled the enhanced test out for online national testing in spring 2025 and for paper test forms in spring 2026, so the enhanced format is the live test. Crucially, the skills and the 1 to 36 score scale are unchanged, so most older practice is still useful, with timing adjusted.
What changed
Three things are genuinely different.
What stayed the same
It is easy to overstate the change. The content of Reading is stable.
The four subject areas are still literary narrative, social science, humanities, and natural science. Paired passages still appear. The questions are still four-option multiple choice with every answer supported in the passage, and there is still no penalty for a wrong answer. The section is still scored 1 to 36. That means almost any older ACT Reading practice passage trains the right skills, as long as you practice under the new timing (about 36 questions in 40 minutes) rather than the old.
Using old practice the right way
Why this matters for your prep
The practical message is reassuring: the enhanced ACT Reading section is shorter and slightly slower per question, and it is built from several parts rather than a rigid block, but it tests the same skills on the same 1 to 36 scale. So the cross-links in this library, which are organized by the three unchanged reporting categories and the four unchanged passage types, apply directly to the test you will sit. The one adjustment to make everywhere is timing, which is why pacing the section is built around the enhanced budget.
Try this
Q1. State the legacy and enhanced ACT Reading section lengths in questions and minutes. [Recall]
- Cue. Legacy: 40 questions in 35 minutes. Enhanced: about 36 questions in 40 minutes, so fewer questions and more time.
Q2. A friend has a stack of older ACT Reading passages. Are they still useful, and what must change? [Short explanation]
- Cue. Yes, the skills and subject areas are unchanged, so the passages train the right abilities. The change is timing: practice at the enhanced pace of about 40 minutes for roughly 36 questions, and do not assume a fixed four-passage block.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of ACT exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
ACT Reading (style)1 marksCompared with the legacy ACT Reading section, the enhanced section has: (A) more questions and less time; (B) fewer questions and a little more time; (C) the same questions and time; (D) no time limit.Show worked answer →
The correct answer is (B). The legacy section had 40 questions in 35 minutes; the enhanced section has about 36 questions in 40 minutes. That is four fewer questions and five more minutes, so you get more time per question.
Why not the others: (A) reverses the change; (C) the format did change; (D) the section is still strictly timed. The takeaway is that the enhanced section is shorter and slightly slower per question, not untimed.
ACT Reading (style)1 marksWhich feature is UNCHANGED between the legacy and enhanced ACT Reading sections? (A) the number of questions; (B) the section length in minutes; (C) the 1 to 36 score scale and evidence-based, passage-only questions; (D) the fixed four-passage structure.Show worked answer →
The correct answer is (C). The skills tested, the rule that every answer is supported in the passage, and the 1 to 36 score scale all carry over unchanged. What changed is the question count, the timing, and the move from a fixed four-passage block to several parts of varying length.
Why not the others: (A) dropped from 40 to about 36; (B) rose from 35 to 40 minutes; (D) the rigid four-passage structure was loosened into several parts.
Related dot points
- The enhanced ACT Reading format: about 36 questions in 40 minutes, built from several parts (a longer prose passage, shorter passages, and a paired set), drawn from four subject areas, all multiple choice with four options, and answered entirely from the passage.
What the enhanced ACT Reading section looks like: about 36 questions in 40 minutes, built from several parts including a longer passage, shorter passages, and a paired set, drawn from four subject areas, all four-option multiple choice answered from the passage.
- How ACT Reading is scored: a raw score (number correct, no penalty for wrong answers) converted to a 1 to 36 scale; three reporting categories (Key Ideas and Details, Craft and Structure, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas); and on the enhanced ACT a Composite that averages English, Reading, and Math with Science optional.
How the ACT Reading section is scored: a raw score (number correct, no guessing penalty) converted to the 1 to 36 scale, the three reporting categories, and the enhanced-ACT Composite that averages English, Reading, and Math with Science optional.
- Pacing the section: budgeting about 40 minutes across the parts of the enhanced Reading section, spending roughly nine minutes per part including reading, banking checkpoints, and protecting time so no part is left unread or unbubbled.
How to pace the ACT Reading section: budget about 40 minutes across the parts, spend roughly nine minutes per part including reading, use time checkpoints, and protect time so no part is left unread or unbubbled.
- Paired passages: the routine for the two-passage part, reading Passage A and answering its questions, then Passage B and its questions, then the comparison questions last, keeping each author's view attributed and using both texts for the relationship items.
How to work the ACT paired-passage part efficiently: read Passage A and answer its questions, then Passage B and its questions, then the comparison questions last, keeping each author's view attributed and using both texts for relationship items.
- Active reading on the ACT: previewing structure, reading for the main point and the function of each paragraph, marking the passage lightly, and returning to the text for evidence before choosing an answer, so that every choice is grounded in a line or phrase.
What active reading means on the ACT: previewing structure, reading for the main point and each paragraph's function, light marking, and returning to the text for evidence before choosing, so every answer is grounded in a specific line or phrase.
Sources & how we know this
- What's on the ACT Test? Exam Sections & Structure — ACT (2026)
- The ACT Test: Enhancements — ACT (2025)