ACT Online Testing

School-Managed Device Setup

Ensure your students can access the ACT Test Online.

Most students taking the ACT online plan to bring a school-managed device on test day. Your support helps ensure they鈥檙e fully prepared and ready to test successfully.

Install ACT Gateway
 

ACT Gateway

ACT Gateway is the secure testing browser used to take the National Online test.

During registration, examinees can select to test at a Test Center that provides devices, or they can elect to bring their own device. The student receives notice they are responsible for ensuring ACT Gateway is installed when they choose the option to BYOD.

Devices must meet the minimum requirements.

Helping Students

School-Managed Devices

For many students, their school-managed device is the primary way they access resources in an academic setting. Students want to test on devices they are familiar with to ensure the greatest level of success on test day. In order to use that device on test day, they require assistance from the organization that manages that device.

Allowing ACT Gateway to be installed on laptops students have access to outside of school hours helps them proactively gain access, and avoids individually installing each time a student asks.

Student Device Readiness

Once ACT Gateway is installed on the device, students are still responsible for completing the device check.

Complete Device Check
 

2025-2026 Schedule

National Test Dates

Test Date
Registration Deadline
Readiness Opens
Readiness Deadline
April 11, 2026 March 6 March 11 April 6
June 13, 2026 May 8 May 11 June 8
July 11, 2026 June 5 June 8 July 6

Device Setup

Install ACT Gateway

Follow platform-specific instructions to install ACT Gateway on Windows, Mac, and Chromebook devices used for testing.

Install Gateway on Windows

鉂 Visit the and install ACT Gateway on devices that will be used for testing. You may also use group policy software like Microsoft Intune.
鉂 If you need access to the MSIX installer, you can contact ACT directly at 319.337.1510.
 

ACT Gateway can also be installed via a direct installer, Microsoft Intune, when the Microsoft Store is blocked.

  1. Log in to Intune (intune.microsoft.com)
  2. Navigate to Apps > Windows
  3. Click Create
  4. Click the drop-down and select Microsoft Store app (new) then click Select
  5. Click Search the Microsoft Store app (new)
  6. Type 9NKK999BW81D or ACT Gateway into the search
  7. Click ACT Gateway and then click Add
  8. Enter any additional information that you wish beyond what the app pre-populates and click Next
  9. Add any necessary Scope tags and click Next
  10. Add the necessary Assignments to deploy the application and click Next
  11. Review your app selections and click Create
  12. Your app will now appear in your list of Windows apps and will deploy according to the Assignments that you selected in the wizard

Option 1: Run as Administrator

Launch ACT Gateway as Administrator to automatically disable the touchscreen while the app runs.

  1. Find the application on your laptop (search for ACT Gateway)
  2. Right click > Select Run as administrator

 

Option 2: Device Manager

  1. Open Device Manager (Windows key 鈫 type Device Manager 鈫 Enter).
  2. Expand Human Interface Devices.
  3. Right-click HID-compliant touch screen 鈫 Disable device 鈫 Confirm.
  4. Test: Touch should no longer respond.

To re-enable: Right-click the same device 鈫 Enable device.

If your test center is utilizing AppLocker policy to secure Windows devices, you may notice issues with ACT Gateway. Default AppLocker policies have been found to suppress a necessary script that runs during device checks. By applying Default AppLocker policies, your device check may be falsely returning a failed device check due to an outdated OS version.

AppLocker Rule to Add for Scripts on Windows:

  1. Right-click the Script Rules and choose New Rule.
  2. On the Before you Begin window, select Next.
  3. On the Permissions window, ensure the Action is set to Allow and the User or Group is Everyone, select Next.
  4. On the Conditions window, choose Path and select Next.
  5. On the Path window, enter %OSDRIVE%\Users\*\appdata\local\Temp\* and select Next.
  6. On the Exceptions window, select Next.
  7. On the Name window, enter a name for the rule and select Create.
  8. Test the rule to ensure that ACT Gateway Device Check is now working.
  9. When ready, right-click on AppLocker, Export Policy and deploy to other Testing Center machines.
 

Install Gateway on Mac

鉂 Visit the Apple Store and download ACT Gateway Enterprise.
 

Install Gateway on Chromebooks

Installation on Chromebooks requires the use of Google Admin, and allowing Google Verified Access.

  1. Log in to the Google Admin console at admin.google.com
  2. Select Devices > Chrome.
  3. Scroll down and select Apps & extensions.
  4. On the left-hand side, select the organizational unit for which you want to install ACT Gateway. Then select the KIOSKS tab to access kiosk applications. Hover over the "+" icon, then select on the top icon that appears: Add by URL.

Application URL: 丑迟迟辫蝉://补肠迟驳补迟别飞补测.补肠迟.辞谤驳鈥
Extension ID: 辫丑苍产颈诲产辫办辞产补尘尘蹿丑濒别濒箩补辞诲驳别苍濒辞驳蹿丑箩鈥
Extension URL: https://actgateway-extension.act.org/update.xml

  1. In the Add by URL window, enter the application URL shown above, then select Save.
  2. Enter the extension information by selecting ACT Gateway in the Apps list to view its kiosk settings.
  3. Scroll down and select ADD EXTENSION, then select Add from a custom URL.
  4. Enable Allow App to Manage Power under Kiosk settings.
  5. Update to the extension ID and URL shown above. Then select Confirm and Save.

Before you begin: To make settings for a specific group of devices, put the devices in an organizational unit.

  1. Use your administrator account to sign in to the Admin console at admin.google.com.
  2. Go to Devices > Chrome > Apps & extensions > Kiosks.
  3. Select the organizational unit where ACT Gateway is installed.
  4. Select ACT Gateway from the Apps list to view its kiosk settings.
  5. Scroll down and click the caret to expand the extension ID.
  6. Set Allow enterprise challenge to enabled.
  7. Click SAVE in the upper right corner of the screen.
  8. Without exiting the organizational unit, go to Devices > Chrome > Settings.
  9. On the Device Settings tab, select Verified mode.
  10. Set Configuration to Require verified mode boot for verified access.
  11. Paste this email into the Services with full access field: act-gateway-prod@maps-oem-20211489.iam.gserviceaccount.com
  12. Click SAVE in the upper right corner of the screen.

ACT tracks some local data settings to help calculate the number of devices available and ready for testing and if data is reset, it will return inaccurate counts. We recommend you enable the setting to erase all local user data rarely and selectively.

Note: This setting does not need to be configured for Windows or MacBook devices.

Additional Configurations

If you are trying to run the device check while at your school, you'll need to ensure that the device can consistently access the following domains:

  • act.org
  • sentry.io
  • qualtrics.com

Google Admin: Use the Administration > Network Settings page to set or update NTP servers. The default setting is no configuration, which automatically leads to pool.ntp.org.

Windows: ACT recommends devices should be set to the default, time.windows.com. This setting can be configured from Windows Date & Time settings.

Mac: Use the System > General > Date & Time page to set up or update NTP servers. ACT recommends devices should be set to the default, time.apple.com.

It is extremely important that you disable automatic updates on all devices before testing. If a device update occurs during testing, information could be lost. ACT recommends you disable automatic updates the Friday before testing, if you cannot regularly keep those updates off.

It is recommended you disable the sleep mode on your device to prevent any connectivity issues.

Windows
Go to Settings > System > Power & battery > Screen, sleep, & hibernate timeouts and adjust the settings to Never for both "Turn my screen off after" and "Make my device sleep after."

Chromebook
Go to Settings > Device > Power and adjust the "When idle" settings to "Keep display on" for both "While charging" and "While on battery."

Kiosk Devices

  • Under "Action on idle", select "Do nothing"
  • In "Screen dim timeout" in minutes, enter 0
  • In "Screen off timeout" in minutes, enter 0
  • From the app, in Apps & extensions > Kiosks, enable Allow App to Manage Power.

MacBook
Go to Apple menu > System Settings > Energy and then turn on "Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off."