ACT vs. SAT

[newbie]

I know this was already asked before, but I couldnt find it.

 

Which is easier??? Or is that a stupid question.

[Brenda in MA]

for my son, the ACT was easier. He does better with straight-forward problems, and he's a pretty quick worker. The ACT has more "content area" questions and also has a science section that the SAT does not have.

 

If you have a child that does really well with logical thinking, then the SAT may be a better test for them. I've heard stories both ways -- certain kids doing better on the SAT or the ACT.

 

If the colleges that your child is looking at accept either one (and most do), then I think the best course of action is to have the child do practice tests for both from prep books and figure out which one they'll do better on and focus their efforts there.

 

As I see it, if you find that the ACT is the better test for your student, the only reason you'd absolutely want to take the SAT (and PSAT) specifically is that if your child scores really well on these tests, he/she may qualify for a National Merit Scholarship.

 

HTH,

Brenda

Edited June 3, 2009 by Brenda in MA

[newbie]

What does the Science cover on the ACT? And how high up does Math go???

[K-FL]

What does the Science cover on the ACT? And how high up does Math go???

 

From the ACT's site:

 

English 75 questions 45 minutes Measures standard written English and rhetorical skills. Mathematics 60 questions 60 minutes Measures mathematical skills students have typically acquired in courses taken up to the beginning of grade 12. Reading 40 questions 35 minutes Measures reading comprehension. Science 40 questions 35 minutes Measures the interpretation, analysis, evaluation, reasoning, and problem-solving skills required in the natural sciences. Optional Writing Test 1 prompt30 minutes Measures writing skills emphasized in high school English classes and in entry-level college composition courses.

[home2333]

The two tests are definitely different. My son took both and did about the same on both. A school counselor I talked to said that the ACT is a reading test and the SAT is a reasoning test.

 

Grace

[Tammyla]

ACT/SAT comparison

 

http://www.eguidancecounselor.com/act_sat_comparison.htm

[KAR120C]

What does the Science cover on the ACT? And how high up does Math go???

This one I can answer :) The ACT Science section covers a lot of graph and chart interpretation, and finding answers in short articles about science. Basically it's like reading comprehension with data... and oddly enough, DS does way WAY better on the Science than on the Reading. I've been told it might be because he's done Statistics.....

 

Math if I remember correctly is about a third Algebra 1 including coordinate graphs, another third Geometry, and the rest between what I'd call Algebra 2 and very simple Trig.

 

The test prep books are actually fairly accurate pictures of how the real tests go -- maybe not exact in scoring, but generally about the right difficulty and question type. It's worth picking up a couple to see!