ACT or SAT
February 9, 2012 by BlackBerry_Mom
Filed under juggling a career and family
PARENT-TEACHER Michelle Sale
SAT vs. ACT
If you are the parent of a high school junior, you are hopefully thinking about the standardized tests your child will be taking this spring. If you haven’t thought about it until now—no worries. It’s not too late.
The deadline to sign up for the March 10th SAT is February 10th. (I encourage students who play spring sports to take this test.) The deadline to sign up for the May 5th SAT is April 6th. There is a June test as well. Visit http://sat.collegeboard.org/home for all the details.
The deadline to sign up for the April 14th ACT is March 9th. The deadline to sign up for the June 9th ACT is May 4th. Visit http://www.actstudent.org/ for all the details.
Which test to take? Well, that depends on the type of student taking the test and the colleges that student will be applying to. While choices do not need to be set in stone, students should have an idea of what their dream schools require for consideration. It doesn’t hurt to be overprepared—as long as it shows the student in the best possible light.
From my experience, and a quick Google search, the differences between the SAT and ACT are:
The SAT is a logical reasoning test.
The ACT is more practical and related to high school content.
The SAT questions often require more than one read for the reader to understand what is being asked.
The ACT questions are often understood after the first read.
The SAT requires knowledge of big, scary vocabulary words.
The ACT does not require knowledge of words that aren’t used by real people.
The SAT Critical Reading section focuses more on making inferences.
The ACT Reading section focuses more on finding answers in the text.
The SAT Math section requires good reading skills.
The ACT Math section tests more difficult math concepts (but they are presented in a straightforward fashion).
The SAT Math section provides formulas.
The ACT Math section does not provide formulas.
The SAT Essay is required and usually on an abstract topic.
The ACT Essay is optional (but most schools require it) and usually on a content-related topic.
The SAT has 10 sections, eight of which are in random order. This may distract or confuse students.
The ACT keeps each topic together and has only four sections.
The SAT questions increase in difficulty as you move through most sections.
The ACT questions are not in order of difficulty.
The SAT is more popular with private schools and schools on the West and East coasts. Keep in mind that all four-year colleges in the United States accept the SAT.
The ACT is more popular with public schools and schools in the Midwest and south. Keep in mind that all four-year colleges in the United States accept the ACT.
The SAT allows you to mix and match your highest Math and Verbal sub-scores from different test dates.
The ACT does not allow you to mix and match sub-scores. What you get on a particular test date is the score that colleges see.
More information on how to prepare for these high stakes exams to come in future posts. In the meantime, sit down and talk to your student about the tests and how they feel about the differences between them. Begin researching prep courses and private tutors. Think deeply about the type of student you have. And of course, register for the exams so you don’t have to pay late fees!
Michelle tutors students in Orange, Rockland, and Bergen counties in reading, writing, study skills, and general organization. She also prepares students for the verbal portions of the SAT and ACT, and assists families with the college application process. Michelle can be found online at www.michellesale.com. Don’t hesitate to get in touch for virtual sessions if you live too far away.