Prohibited Behavior at the Test Center
You will be dismissed and your answer document will not be scored if you are found:
- Filling in or altering ovals on a test or continuing to write the essay after time has been called on that test
- Looking back at a test on which time has already been called
- Looking ahead in the test booklet
- Looking at another examinee's test booklet or answer document
- Giving or receiving assistance
- Having another person test under your name
- Using a prohibited calculator
- Using a calculator on any test other than the Mathematics Test
- Sharing a calculator with another examinee
- Using any device to share or exchange information at any time during the tests or during breaks (all electronic devices, including cell phones, must be turned off from the time you are admitted to test until you are dismissed after testing concludes)
- Attempting to remove test materials, including test questions or answers, from the test room by any means
- Using highlight pens, colored pens or pencils, scratch paper, notes, dictionaries, or other aids
- Not following instructions or abiding by the rules of the test center
- Exhibiting confrontational, threatening, or unruly behavior
- Creating a disturbance or allowing an alarm or phone to sound in the test room
ACT may confiscate and retain indefinitely any electronic device, including a cell phone, used in violation of this list of prohibited behaviors. Examinees who are dismissed due to prohibited behavior forfeit their registration for that test date. There are no options for refunds or appeals in situations involving prohibited behavior.
Cheating hurts everyone – if you see it, report it
Students who don't do their own work put honest students at a disadvantage. Whether it's using a cheat sheet, copying someone else's work, or sending another person to take the test, we all feel cheated when someone tries to game the system.
Every examinee deserves the chance to show what they have learned. ACT has designed its testing procedures to give you and other honest students an equal opportunity to demonstrate your own academic achievement on a fair and equal playing field.
If you suspect that someone is trying to take unfair advantages or encounter anything else out of the ordinary, please report it to ACT. You can make an anonymous report about test security concerns by calling the ACT hotline number (1.877.777.7296) or through our security website.
Keep the ACT fair. Report cheating.
Why We Do This
Our test security procedures are designed to ensure that examinees have an equal opportunity to demonstrate their academic achievement and skills, that examinees who do their own work are not unfairly disadvantaged by examinees who do not, and that scores reported for each examinee are valid.