Science no longer counts toward the ACT Composite, a change that alters which students the ACT favors and, according to Mr. Test Prep, means families should revisit a decision that may have been made on outdated information. The online ACT test prep service founded by Michael Romano is telling families that a decision made on the old math deserves a second look.
ACT states that starting September 2025, all ACT tests use the enhanced Composite score based only on English, math and reading. Science remains a section, but it is no longer a Composite component. The enhanced ACT became available for national online testing in April 2025 and for the ACT National Saturday paper test in September 2025. The current structure is English with 50 questions in 35 minutes, Mathematics with 45 questions in 50 minutes, Reading with 36 questions in 40 minutes, and Science with 40 questions in 40 minutes.
The change reopens the SAT versus ACT comparison because a student whose relative weakness sat in science used to carry that weakness into the Composite. Now they do not. The reverse also holds, and it gets less attention: a student who leaned on science to lift a Composite has lost that lift. Pacing is the second variable, and it differs sharply between the two tests and between ACT sections. English asks 50 questions in 35 minutes, while Reading asks 36 in 40. For a student who is accurate but deliberate, those are not the same test. None of this shows up on a transcript.
"Two students can know the same material and produce dramatically different scores," Romano said. His position is that guessing at the answer costs a family more than measuring it, which is why the recommendation sits in a free session rather than behind a paid program.
The Mr. Test Prep Method covers content, question logic and pacing across two-hour Zoom sessions. A-Game Access covers performance under time pressure through four components: A-Game, The Nine, the A-Game Cue, and Smile Into the Action. The system does not promise perfect performances, does not eliminate nervousness and does not guarantee outcomes.
Romano graduated from Duke University in 1991 with a major in Psychology, has worked with students since 1997, and has taught more than 4,000 SAT, ACT and PSAT students.
The free two-hour trial session includes a diagnostic test. Afterward Romano holds a Zoom call with parent and student covering diagnostic results, which tests to take and when, prep frequency and target scores, then emails a written proposal. Families can book by phone at +1 (650) 575-5867 or through the Mr. Test Prep website. Sessions are held online, for students in Palo Alto, the Bay Area and beyond.
For families, the implication is that a prior decision between the SAT and ACT may no longer reflect how a student will actually score. Because the Composite now rests on three sections rather than four, students who once benefited from science are affected differently than those who once struggled with it. Mr. Test Prep has been an educational consultant for over 26 years, and one of his strategies is to increase his student's self-confidence thereby Elevating More Than A Score.
