What Alabama Families and Educators Should Know About the ACT in 2026–2027

Cody Carlton
Jul 21
6 min read

A student can hear three different things about the ACT in the same week. A friend says colleges don't require it anymore. A cousin says her scholarship came down to her score. A teacher mentions it's also tied to graduation and the state's accountability report. None of them are wrong, exactly. That's what makes the ACT so hard to talk about honestly, and why it's worth sorting out before junior year gets away from you.

For Alabama students, the ACT isn't just a college entrance exam. It's part of the state's assessment system, one path to a graduation readiness requirement, a tool some colleges use for admission or placement, and, for many students, real scholarship money. This year adds a wrinkle: a redesigned national ACT that doesn't always match the version Alabama gives during the school day. Knowing which one applies to your student, and why, is the difference between feeling ready and finding out too late what you missed.

What's Changing Nationally

The national ACT now has a shorter core: English, math, and reading. Science and writing are optional add-ons for a national test date, and the Composite score comes from English, math, and reading only. The redesigned test also gives students more time per question, and testing happens both online and on paper depending on the event. ACT's K–12 changes page is the clearest breakdown of what's different.

Here's the part that trips people up: states and districts can choose whether science or writing stay part of their own testing plan, separate from what a student sees registering for a Saturday national date. That distinction matters a lot in Alabama.

How Alabama Uses the ACT

Alabama's 2026–2027 assessment calendar still lists the statewide Grade 11 test as ACT with Writing, the state's traditional configuration. Paper testing begins March 9, 2027, with online and accommodated testing running through March 19. The standard paper makeup date is April 6, with accommodated makeup windows continuing through April 16. Ask the district directly which sections are included and whether testing will be online or on paper.

Alabama gives this test to all Grade 11 public school students to gauge college and career readiness, and results also feed school reporting. Beginning with the class of 2026, students pursuing Alabama's General Education Diploma Pathway need at least one approved college or career readiness indicator to graduate (students on the Essentials or Alternate Achievement Standards pathways aren't subject to this requirement). An ACT benchmark in any subject is one way to meet it, but so is a qualifying AP or IB score, dual enrollment credit, a WorkKeys score, an industry credential, or a CTE completer credential, among a few other approved paths. Readiness doesn't look the same for every student, and that's by design.

How Colleges Actually Use Scores

There's no single rule anymore. Some schools require a score, some are test-optional, and some don't require one for admission but still use it for scholarships or placement. Common App tells students to check each school's policy individually, and that advice holds inside Alabama, too. All three of Alabama's major public universities are currently moving back toward requiring scores.

The University of Alabama will require a score for students applying in August 2026 (enrolling 2027) with a GPA below 3.0; students at or above that GPA aren't required to submit one for that cycle. Starting with applications in August 2027, every first-year applicant needs a score. Auburn now requires an ACT or SAT score on file for a complete application for summer and fall 2027, after phasing out the narrow GPA-based exception it allowed for fall 2026 only. UAB is test-optional through fall 2026, but students who apply in August 2026 or later for fall 2027 will need a score if their cumulative GPA is below 3.5. Even now, a submitted score can mean skipping placement testing in English and math.

"Test-optional" is turning into a temporary label at Alabama's major public universities, not a permanent one. Even where it still applies, a good score can still unlock scholarship money, place a student into college-level coursework, or strengthen an application to an honors program.

Why It Can Matter Even Without College Plans

A student headed toward a trade, an apprenticeship, or the workforce might wonder why any of this applies to them. Part of the answer is that an ACT benchmark can satisfy Alabama's readiness requirement no matter what comes next, and the score itself is useful information about a student's skills.

Just don't confuse it with ACT WorkKeys, a separate workplace-skills assessment Alabama gives to seniors in fall 2026 with a spring 2027 retest window. For a student weighing a technical program or apprenticeship, the better question usually isn't "do I need a high Composite?" It's which credential or placement score actually matters for that next step.

What to Actually Do

Start by confirming when your student’s Alabama school-day test is, then encourage them to also sign up for a national test date. ACT’s own research shows that 57 percent of students who retest improve their Composite score, so a single attempt rarely tells the full story. Students should test at least twice, and CAMP encourages at least three times, since each attempt is another chance at a stronger, more accurate score. From there, a few concrete moves make the biggest difference.

Check national test dates, which run September 19, October 17, and December 12, 2026, then February 27, April 10, June 12, and July 10, 2027, and plan any retake around real admission or scholarship deadlines. Ask the counselor about fee waivers before assuming cost is a barrier; eligible juniors and seniors can get up to two. If accommodations are needed, start that request early, since it has to be approved before test day. And use ACT's free official practice materials rather than guessing, reviewing why a question was missed, not just the score.

What Schools Can Do

This is a communication year more than anything else. Families need a plain explanation of how the school-day ACT differs from national testing, which benchmark applies to which requirement, and how to check a specific college's policy instead of assuming. Score data is most useful when it leads somewhere: a mock assessment that shows where students are losing points, and where support or instruction needs to shift. The score isn't the strategy. It's the information that should shape one.

How CAMP Helps Turn Scores Into Opportunity

College Admissions Made Possible (CAMP) is a Birmingham-based nonprofit built around one goal: giving students the tools to reach the college, university, or career of their choice. CAMP served more than 200 schools and reached over 30,000 students in 2025–2026, building on more than 15 years of service to Alabama schools.

Rather than treating ACT prep as a one-time event, CAMP's services connect mock testing and diagnostics, semester-long ACT support, teacher professional development, college advising, FAFSA and scholarship help, and district strategy consulting into one system. In CAMP's flagship Birmingham City Schools partnership, participating scholars averaged a 25 percent improvement in standardized testing scores compared with peers. That's real movement from a real strategy, not just more practice tests.

School administrators, district leaders, and GEAR UP partners: connect with CAMP to talk through ACT preparation, diagnostics, and readiness support built around your students.

When a student understands what a score means, gets the right support, and can see how it connects to something real, the ACT stops being just a test. It becomes one tool for turning possibility into a plan.

Sources

This information reflects official policies and schedules available as of July 16, 2026. Testing dates, admission policies, and state guidance can change. Confirm current requirements with your school, district, and each college under consideration.