This high rate of test-day absenteeism is concerning. The ACT test is an important step in the college-going process, with over 1,500 colleges across the US either requiring, recommending, or considering test scores as a criterion for admission decisions. Fee waivers are intended to remove the financial burden of taking the test, thus potentially…

Historically, a large and disproportionate share of students who register for an ACT national test date with a fee waiver have not subsequently taken the test on their registered test date. In this issue brief, this phenomenon is referred to as "test-day absenteeism." This is the second brief in a series of studies that investigate ACT's…

Taking the ACT test is an important step in the college-going process. Over 1,500 colleges across the US educating approximately 1.5 million first-time degree-seeking undergraduates either require, recommend, or consider test scores as a criterion for admission decisions. The registration fees for taking the ACT on a national test date--at $55 for…