ACT Scaling Test (AST)

The purpose of the ACT Scaling Test (AST) is to establish a common scale in order to aggregate student course scores across all T courses and colleges to form a single rank of students for university admission. 

• The AST enables students to be compared equitably, regardless of the college they attend or the course groups to which they belong. 

• The AST tests higher order cognitive skills which are developed through school studies.

• The AST assesses skills necessary for success at university.

• The AST is open to any student in their final year of schooling undertaking an ACT Senior Secondary Certificate. However, the requirements of a T package must also be met in order to receive an ATAR.

The AST Scaling test is an assessment of higher order thinking, generic reasoning, reading and writing skills, rather than a test of subject based knowledge, as in an examination. 

The AST aims to test the cognitive skills and understandings that underpin success in senior secondary and post-secondary education. The test allows the placement of scores given to students in individual colleges onto a single system-wide scale. Scaling allows the scores given at different colleges to be comparable. 

The AST usually occurs during one week on a Tuesday and a Wednesday in August/September of each year.  The AST comprises of three papers:

• Short Response Test (2 hours) of 19-25 units of questions testing thinking and reasoning. Students will be asked for interpretations, explanations and justification or points of view. 

• Multiple Choice Test (2 hours 15 minutes) of 80 questions grouped into units, each based on a piece of stimulus material. The material is drawn from the Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences and Mathematics and is accessible to all senior secondary students. 

• Writing Task (2 hours 30 minutes) where students will be given stimulus material on a particular topic and are then expected to write a clear argumentative response of 600 words. 

Below are two examples of quantitative type questions from an AST Multiple Choice Test: Link to Quantitative MC questions

Below is an example of a verbal type question from an AST Short Response Test: the link to the Short Response questions

Below is an example of an AST Writing Task (it is 3 pages and recommended that you open it in a separate tab to view it correctly). Link to the Writing Task