This page contains professionally-written answer explanations to the freely available, official ACT practice tests floating around on the internet.

Depending on the year, either the ACT or the SAT is the most popular college admissions test in the United States. In 2024, approximately 1.4 million students took the ACT in the US, representing roughly 36% of the high school graduating class.

According to ACT, the best way to improve your score is simply to take the test more than once, which is why we’ve published this guide of free ACT practice tests. Students who took the ACT test multiple times scored an average of nearly 3 points higher than those who took the ACT only one time.

How to Prepare for the ACT Test

Armed with these statistics and over 20 years of experience, we are confident in saying that the best way to prepare for the ACT is:

  1. Review the tested academic concepts (know your stuff)
  2. Take full-length practice ACT tests (increase familiarization)
  3. Stick to timed conditions (build endurance)

Click here to get more tips on how to improve your ACT score.

More Tips for School ACT Prep Teachers

One of the simplest ways to help prepare your students for the ACT is to have them work through the official practice tests on this page—and ensure that they’re learning from their mistakes. But also check out these additional resources:

Click here to learn more about Piqosity for educators or schedule a free info call with us.

How the ACT Has Changed: What You Need to Know

The new, enhanced ACT comes with shorter sections, answer choices, and time to take it. Read our guide “What’s Changing with the New, Enhanced ACT in 2025” where we’ve analyzed the new scoring system, format, and more to ease the uncertainty and streamline your success.

The main highlights of the major changes to the ACT are:

  • The test is 1 hour shorter.
  • The Science section is optional.
  • The Math section has 4 answer choices instead of 5.
  • The reading passages are shorter.

Alongside the preparation for the new features, make sure to keep utilizing the material currently available so you don’t fall behind; they still serve as the next best available preparation content for future test dates. Official ACT practice tests with our answer explanations for each are sure to keep you on the right track.

Free Official ACT Practice Tests

Before the launch of the 2025 “Enhanced” ACT, ACT generally made one full-length practice test available for free per year. There are currently three ACT practice tests prior to the 2025 version, and there is one full-length 2025 Enhanced ACT test for your studying utilization. The answer explanations to the 2025 Enhanced ACT plus the three most recent PDFs for the pre-2025 ACT versions are included below:

The 1, free-full-length Enhanced ACT 2025 is available here. These are our answer explanations to this test:

    1. English Answer Explanations from ACT 2025 Practice Test
    2. Math Answer Explanations from ACT 2025 Practice Test
    3. Reading Answer Explanations from ACT 2025 Practice Test
    4. Science Answer Explanations from ACT 2025 Practice Test 

The 3, free full-length official ACT practice tests from pre-2025 are available here:

  1. ACT Practice Test 2023-2024 (Form 2176CPRE), which is the same as
    1. 2022-2023
    2. 2021-2022
  2. ACT Practice Test 2020-2021 (Form 74FPRE), which is the same test as
    1. 2019-2020
    2. 2018-2019
  3. ACT Practice Test 2015-16 (Form 72CPRE), which is the same as
    1. 2017-2018
    2. 2016-2017

The next three most recent practice tests are still useful as a part of your preparation. Access their free answer explanations here:

  1. ACT Practice Test 2021-2022 (Form 2176CPRE) Answer Explanations
    1. English Answer Explanations from 2021 ACT Practice Test
    2. Math Answer Explanations from 2021 ACT Practice Test
    3. Reading Answer Explanations from 2021 ACT Practice Test
    4. Science Answer Explanations from 2021 ACT Practice Test
    5. Writing Test Sample Essays from 2021 ACT Practice Test
  2. ACT Practice Test 2018-2019 (Form 74FPRE) Answer Explanations
    1. English Answer Explanations from 2020 ACT Practice Test
    2. Math Answer Explanations from 2020 ACT Practice Test
    3. Reading Answer Explanations from 2020 ACT Practice Test
    4. Science Answer Explanations from 2020 ACT Practice Test
    5. Writing Test Sample Essays from 2020 ACT Practice Test
  3. ACT Practice Test 2015-18 (Form 72CPRE) Answer Explanations
    1. English Answer Explanations from 2015-2018 ACT Practice Test
    2. Math Answer Explanations from 2015-2018 ACT Practice Test
    3. Reading Answer Explanations from 2015-2018 ACT Practice Test
    4. Science Answer Explanations from 2015-2018 ACT Practice Test
    5. Writing Answer Explanations from 2015-2018 ACT Practice Test

While there is only one official 2025 practice ACT test out, there is still other material to use for your preparation. We think old practice tests are still helpful; the main change for 2025 is that the new test is shorter, while the style and content you will see is the same. You will not be hurt by studying with the old tests or materials.

So, just keep this in mind if you are having some doubts about the validity of the current practice tests or answer explanations: this new and old material will be applicable in your study plans.

Piqosity Free ACT Practice Tests & Concept Review

iPad loaded with Piqosity 2 student dashboard for ACT courseWhen you’re finished reviewing these official practice ACT tests, continue practicing with our own 12 full-length practice ACT tests. With Piqosity, you’ll get access to great content and features to help you do your best on test day:

  • 1 Mini Diagnostic ACT practice test to quickly gauge your starting point
  • 12 full-length (2 free) ACT practice tests which closely mimic the official exam
  • 15 hour video course + 70 concept review lessons
  • Estimated test day score
  • Strengths and weakness analysis
  • Step-by-step answer explanations and a community of helpful educators

ACT® is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc. Piqosity is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by ACT.