A two-week study plan for the December 12, 2026 ACT
With two weeks left, take two full ACT practice tests a week apart, spend the days between on the three question types that cost you the most, and stop new practice the day before. The plan below runs from Saturday, November 28 to test day, Saturday, December 12: about an hour on school days and two to three hours on the weekends. Late registration closes November 29.
The 14 days at a glance
Starting later? Keep the two practice tests and their review days, and cut question type days from the middle.
| Day | Date | What to do | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Sat, Nov 28 | Practice test 1: one of ACT's free full-length online practice tests, timed, in one sitting. Include Science if you registered for it. Don't review yet. | 2 hours 5 minutes, or 2 hours 45 minutes with Science |
| Day 2 | Sun, Nov 29 | Review test 1: every miss and every guess. Log each one with its section, question type and why you missed it. Pick the three question types that cost you the most. Late registration closes tonight at 11:59 p.m. Central Time if you haven't signed up. | 2 hr |
| Day 3 | Mon, Nov 30 | Question type 1: read the rules, then 20 questions on just that type, untimed, then 10 timed. | 1 hr |
| Day 4 | Tue, Dec 1 | Question type 2, same format. | 1 hr |
| Day 5 | Wed, Dec 2 | Question type 3, same format. Redo Monday's misses without looking at the explanations. | 1 hr |
| Day 6 | Thu, Dec 3 | Timing day: one English passage and one Reading passage at test pace. Add one Science passage if you're taking Science. | 45 min |
| Day 7 | Fri, Dec 4 | Redo every question in your log from test 1. | 45 min |
| Day 8 | Sat, Dec 5 | Practice test 2: the other online test or the paper test in Preparing for the ACT 2025–2026. Start at 8:00 a.m. if you can, the test-day reporting time. | 2 hours 5 minutes, or 2 hours 45 minutes with Science |
| Day 9 | Sun, Dec 6 | Review test 2 and compare question types with test 1. Keep the types that still cost points and drop the ones that don't. | 2 hr |
| Day 10 | Mon, Dec 7 | Question type block on the top remaining type. Photo upload and standby requests close today. | 1 hr |
| Day 11 | Tue, Dec 8 | Math: 15 questions from the last third of a practice section, timed, using the calculator you'll use on test day. | 45 min |
| Day 12 | Wed, Dec 9 | Second question type block, then one timed Reading passage. | 1 hr |
| Day 13 | Thu, Dec 10 | Redo every question in your log. Only the ones you still miss get another look. | 1 hr |
| Day 14 | Fri, Dec 11 | No new questions. Print your admission ticket, pack your bag and go to bed at your usual time. | 20 min |
| Test day | Sat, Dec 12 | Test day. Report by 8:00 a.m., eat breakfast first and bring the items in the list below. | Test |
The practice tests are free: ACT has two full-length online practice tests for the enhanced ACT, in timed and untimed versions, and a paper test in Preparing for the ACT 2025–2026. Score the paper test with our ACT score calculator, which uses that booklet's conversion table.
Why two practice tests, a week apart
The first test tells you which question types cost the most points. The week between is for fixing those. The second test checks whether the fixes held up under time pressure. A third test in the last week only helps if you still have a day to review it.
Use tests you haven't seen. A retaken test scores high because you remember the answers. The enhanced ACT has fewer questions than the old one, so practice on enhanced tests if you can: older tests have 75 English and 60 Math questions and will throw off your pacing.
How to review a practice test
Most of the points come from the review, not the test itself.
- Review within a day, while you still remember what you were thinking.
- Go through every miss, and every right answer you guessed.
- Tag each one with its section and question type. Our ACT section guides name the types ACT reports on.
- Write one line on why: didn't know the rule, misread the question, ran out of time, or a slip. Each needs a different fix.
- For "didn't know," learn the rule, then do 10 questions on just that type.
- For "ran out of time," use the pacing table below on the next timed passage.
- Redo every logged question two or three days later, without the explanation.
Pacing per section
Sections run in this order. Wrong answers cost nothing, so answer every question before time is called.
| Section | Questions | Minutes | Per question |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 50 | 35 | About 42 sec |
| Math | 45 | 50 | About 67 sec |
| Reading | 36 | 40 | About 67 sec |
| Science (optional) | 40 | 40 | About 60 sec |
Question counts include unscored try-out questions, which you can't tell apart. Sources: enhanced ACT FAQs, Preparing for the ACT 2025–2026.
- English questions sit beside the passage. Answer them as you read rather than reading the whole passage first.
- Math lets you use a permitted calculator. Online testers also get Desmos built in, per ACT's calculator policy. Science doesn't allow a calculator.
- Reading has four passages and about ten minutes for each. If one runs long, move on and come back.
- Mark and move on. Every question is worth the same, so a hard one isn't worth three easy ones.
The day before and the morning of
From ACT's test-day rules and calculator policy. Photo upload and standby requests for December 12 close December 7.
- Your admission ticket. ACT recommends bringing it, since it has the details you need to log in on an online test.
- An acceptable photo ID.
- A permitted calculator with fresh batteries, and a backup if you have one. Test staff don't provide calculators, and calculators with built-in algebra systems such as the TI-89 are banned.
- Pencils and erasers for a paper test.
- A watch is fine, as long as it can't record, connect to the internet, communicate or calculate. Smartwatches and fitness bands aren't allowed.
- Reporting time is 8:00 a.m. ACT estimates you'll leave between 11:00 and 11:15 a.m. with English, Math and Reading, or between 12:00 and 12:15 p.m. with Science or Writing added.
If you have less than two weeks
- Ten days: start at Day 1 anyway and cut Days 3 to 6. Both practice tests and their review days stay.
- One week: one practice test, one review day, then Days 11 to 14.
- A few days: skip new practice tests. Redo the questions you've already missed, pack your bag and sleep.
Testing later? The next national dates are on our ACT test dates page, and SAT vs ACT compares the two if you haven't picked a test yet.
Sources
- 1. ACT: national test dates and deadlines
- 2. ACT: test fees
- 3. ACT: online testing and score timing
- 4. ACT: free full-length online practice tests
- 5. ACT: enhanced ACT FAQs (question counts, timing, unscored questions)
- 6. ACT, Preparing for the ACT 2025–2026, p. 5: test room rules, reporting time and dismissal times
- 7. ACT: calculator policy
A plan built from your own misses
Ashore's ACT course is coming soon: a starting check and a day-by-day plan up to your test date. Join the waitlist and we'll email you once when it opens.
When ACT prep opens, it's part of the same plan as SAT and AP, at the same price. The score guarantee covers the SAT only.
Practice test 1
Example
27
Composite
(28 + 26 + 27) ÷ 3
- English28
- Math26
- Reading27
- ScienceOptional, not in the Composite25