Should I Take the SAT or the ACT? Brenda Ellenburg, Director of Assessment, Evaluation & Secondary Math

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1 Should I Take the SAT or the ACT? Brenda Ellenburg, Director of Assessment, Evaluation & Secondary Math The road to college can be a confusing and hectic experience. Choosing the right admissions test to take SAT or ACT doesn't have to be. In general, both the SAT and the ACT are pretty much the same when it comes to weight on your college application. OK, you re not sure whether to take the SAT or the ACT? One of the most frequently asked questions in trying to decide which test to take is, How do these tests actually differ? SAT and ACT are both standardized tests that factor into the college admissions process. Both tests measure just one thing: how well you take standardized tests. What these test don t tell you is how well you ve done in high school, or even how well you ll do in college. So, how do these two tests actually differ? Listed below are the four major ways these two tests differ: 1. Geography The SAT is the dominant college admissions test on the West Coast and up and down the Eastern Seaboard. ACT is the dominant college admission in the Midwest and South. Important fact to remember: The vast majority of the colleges accept both! 2. Science - The ACT has a science section. The science section is more of a reading test, not a test on what science facts you can recall. 3. Writing Both include an essay, but the difference is the essay on the SAT is mandatory while the ACT is optional. If you plan on taking the ACT make sure you check with your prospective colleges to see if they even require the essay. 4. Scoring Each section of the SAT is scored on a scale of 200 to 800 with 2400 being the highest possible combined score. The ACT scores each section on a scale of 1 to 36. Your total composite score will also fall somewhere on the same scale. Majority of parents are more familiar with the SAT and assume the SAT will be the best assessment for their children. For many the ACT remains a mystery. So, let s look at some facts and compare both tests. ACT is actually quite different from the SAT because it measures knowledge while the latter measures your ability to reason. ACT is a bit more focused on your individual knowledge of specific subjects. On the ACT you will receive a math, English, reading, science and writing score, but you don t have to send all of the scores to your choice colleges. You only have to send the scores your choice college requests. This can actually help you if you excel in certain areas over others. Writing portion on the ACT is not mandatory and you only need to take it if the school you re applying to requires it. SAT, born in 1926, was a child of the IQ test and was designed to test innate ability or aptitude. ACT, born in 1959, was a child of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and was designed to test scholastic achievement. In a perfect world, you would sit for both a mock ACT assessment and a mock SAT assessment, and then prep for the test which better matches your skill set. When determining which assessment is right for you, compare your skill set to the skills emphasized

2 by the two tests. So, what types of skills are required to succeed on each assessment? Let s look at some of the skills emphasized by the two tests, so you can determine which test is right for you. Vocabulary Skills Powerful vocabularies, the SAT gives you an advantage. Weaker vocabularies, the ACT may be more attractive. Abstract Reasoning Think in a more abstract manner SAT. More straightforward and stick to the context and the words in front of you ACT. In Context Or In Isolation See concepts better in context may do better on the ACT. Reading Comprehension Skills SAT reading comprehension has got you down try the ACT. Math Skills Struggling with the strangeness of the SAT math, you may feel more at home with the more familiar straightforward ACT math. However, if you are an average/lower-level math student looking for a quick hit on math, it is easier to learn a few SAT tricks and get a score boost than to go back and learn all of the remedial math required to succeed on the ACT. Grammar Skills Strong Grammarians ACT Keys to the ACT science section are the abilities to read and see graphic trends quickly and to stay focused for 35 intense minutes. Even if you received Bs in bio, chem., and physics, you may be able to rock the ACT science section if you can work quickly enough. Speed ACT is all about time management. If you have timing difficulties on the SAT, then often you will have a greater issue with time on the ACT. The clock will either be your ally or your nemesis on the ACT. Mental Endurance Experience mental burnout or have attention issues, then you may fare better on the ACT. Accommodation Testing accommodation is extremely hard to get for the ACT, but it can be done. The ACT administrators like to see 12 months of documentation of a student s disability. This is much more stringent than the requirements for receiving accommodation on the SAT. Did you perform well on the PSAT, then you should prep for the SAT and see if gains can be achieved. In the event that meaningful gains on the SAT fail to materialize over time (often by the end of the junior year), you may want to sit for a mock ACT in order to determine if the ACT may be a better assessment. If you scored only mediocre on the PSAT, you should take a mock ACT early junior year to see if that test is a better fit. If you achieve an ACT score that is significantly higher than your PSAT score, then you should prep for the ACT from the beginning. If your scores are even or if the PSAT is higher, you should prep for the more coachable SAT. Majority are SAT-focused and energies are invested into the SAT. If you eventually want to try the ACT, you will find that most of the content you have learned will transfer to the ACT. If a student is even on the SAT and the ACT, focus on the SAT. SAT, by its design, is and always will be a more coachable test. You will not usually see dramatic gains on the ACT. There is not a lightbulb that goes off when you finally understand the ACT. This does happen all the time on the SAT. This usually happens when you finally understand how to interpret the critical reading questions on the SAT.

3 What happens when I switch between the SAT and ACT? The tests overlap some 75% in content, so prepping for one will invariably help you on the other. Any grammar you learn will hit both tests. Most of the math will also be applicable to both tests. Reading comprehension, too. Even the Science section is mostly reading comprehension and math. This being said, if you want to switch from one test to another you must familiarize yourself with the questions on the test. Buy a book or take a mock test, but don t go in cold. A few hours looking over a test can make a difference. Some other factors you may want to consider are: In order to determine which test is best to take, you need to recognize what your strengths and weaknesses are on each test. If you are better in math and science, the ACT is a more appropriate test. The SAT has three math sections that test up to the Algebra II level. The ACT tests math up to the Trigonometry level. If you excel in writing and other components of English, then the SAT is probably the better option. The SAT consists of three critical reading sections that focus on vocabulary and reading comprehension as well as an essay. The ACT has only one section about English grammar and an optional essay. The SAT is made up of 10 sections while the ACT has only four. Even though the structure of these tests is very different, the time it takes to complete them is not. The SAT takes about 3 hours and 45 minutes and the ACT takes about 3 hours and 25 minutes. The scoring processes of the SAT and ACT are also different. On the SAT there is a penalty for wrong answers while on the ACT there is not. The Verbal Sections SAT- The SAT verbal sections include: Analogies, Sentence Completion's, and Critical Reading. You will need to work around tough vocabulary in both analogies and sentence completion's. In the critical reading section, you'll get four passages from different subject areas. To answer the questions, you'll have to grasp the author's overall argument quickly, and draw relationships between the details of the passage and its main idea. ACT- The ACT English section gives you a series of sentences and paragraphs and asks you to identify and correct any grammatical or punctuation errors, garbled or redundant prose, or stylistic flubs. Don't be alarmed though, these questions do not test arcane grammar rules, but rather your basic grammar skills, logic and common sense. In the ACT Reading section, you'll be given four reading passages followed by questions mostly asking you to locate facts and verify information. OTHER "HELPS"- The SAT Critical Reading is like analyzing a debate, while ACT reading is more like researching a term paper. If you're good at interpretation, you'll do well on the SAT. If you're more of a quantitative thinker, you might be more comfortable with the ACT. Math Sections SAT- The SAT Math sections contain approximately equal proportions of arithmetic, algebra, and geometry questions, along with some other question types that require

4 skills like probability and logical reasoning. The SAT is interested in testing your ability to manipulate information like key facts and formulas, rather than just memorizing them. ACT- The ACT Math section requires you to know pre algebra, geometry, and coordinate and plane geometric. Unlike the SAT, you'll also see trigonometry, the quadratic formula and graphs and equations of circles, ellipses and parabolas. The questions are multiple-choice. Regular Math questions. They are straightforward, requiring you to know a particular concept or formula - so you'll need to have this information memorized. Both the SAT and ACT test high school math and permit you to use a calculator. If you enjoy questions that call upon logical reasoning and visualization, you might prefer the SAT. But if you're more comfortable with straightforward, academically rigorous questions, the ACT might be for you. No matter which format feels right for you, remember: You can take predictive tests (the PSAT and PLAN) sophomore year and extrapolate scores you re likely to get on the SAT and ACT. The practice tests cover much the same material as their respective cousins, which they imitate in style and content. Take each test in as realistic conditions as possible, with no distractions, timing yourself. Did you understand the format? Did one experience cause more stress than the other? How long can you sit without fidgeting? If you have a short attention span and difficulty maintaining focus, the ACT may be better Similarly, counselors say that students with learning disabilities that make it difficult to process information may do better on the ACT because the questions are more knowledge-based and straightforward. Regardless of which test you take, or if you take both, prepare! There are free resources and prep books, classroom and online courses, or tutoring programs available to you take advantage of all of your resources! Be sure to check with your Guidance Counselor! Good luck! Teaching Kids to be Organized Anita Beatty, Director of Administration & Advocacy for Special Education Being organized is one of the key ingredients for academic success. Many of the students who do not do well academically are also the students who are disorganized. While keeping things neat and orderly may come naturally to some, for others, it's a skill that needs to be taught. Here are some tips for parents to help your child improve their organizational skills. 1. Help you child create an assignment schedule so they know exactly how much needs to be done and when it is due. 2. Have your child clean out their backpack at least one time per week. 3. It s OK to periodically remind the student of assignments and test dates. 4. Help your student break tasks into workable and obtainable steps. 5. Help your child prioritize assignments and activities for completion.

5 6. Maintain communication with the teachers working with your student to determine progress and to assist with organization of materials, if needed.