Education Technology

Solution 10631: Calculator Usage Guidelines for the ACT® test.

What are the calculator usage guidelines for the ACT test?

The ACT allows the use of certain kinds of calculators on the Mathematics Test only. For test security reasons, to avoid disturbances in the testing room, and to ensure fairness for all test takers, the following types of calculators are not permitted:

• Pocket organizers
• Handheld or laptop computers
• Electronic writing pads or pen-input devices
• Calculators built into cellular phones or other wireless communication devices
• Models with a QWERTY (typewriter) keypad (Calculators with letters on the keys are permitted as long as the keys are not arranged in QWERTY format.)
• Models with built-in Computer Algebra Systems (capability to simplify algebraic expressions, multiply polynomials, or factor polynomials).

Specific Texas Instruments graphing calculators prohibited for use on the ACT test include the TI-89, TI-89 Titanium, TI-92, TI-92 Plus, Voyage 200, TI-Nspire CAS with Clickpad, TI-Nspire CAS with Touchpad, and TI-Nspire CX CAS graphing calculators.

For more information, please visit the ACT Calculator Policy.