Which test, ACT or SAT, easier to raise a high score

[*LC]

Hi,

 

My oldest is a public-schooled junior, who has taken the ACT and the SAT once. She did well on both tests but needs a few points on either one to qualify for top merit scholarships at her school of choice. I'm not sure which test makes the most sense to re-take to raise the score that little bit.

 

It seems it would make sense to concentrate on just one test at this point, so I'm turning to the experienced testing parents here for advice.

 

Here is the score breakdown w/out writing, because writing doesn't factor into scholarships. I also included prep work done for the first test as well as strange circumstances.

 

SAT: CR 800; Math 680

Took a Princeton SAT review course at school last summer. Went over some of those materials and took a few practice tests before the test in January. Was in a bad frame of mind on test day, because just heard she had not made the school soccer team. (Later found out did make the team.)

 

ACT: English 35; Reading 34; Math 30; Science; 30. Only prep was a few practice tests the night before the test. Somehow forget calculator at home and had to use a friend's extra one, which had unfamiliar setup.

 

This college does not super score. Each test stands on its own.

 

Typing this out makes it obvious to me that she should concentrate on the ACT. It looks like she has the most room for improvement in the science/math areas on that test. On the SAT, she couldn't count on making a perfect CR score, so any gains on math could be offset with a lower CR. This child actually likes math/science better than English; plans to major in engineering.

 

Am I missing something? Any recommended resources for raising a good ACT score 2 points?

 

Thanks

[supermom1]

For math she can practice more this will definitely help . My freshman son took it with lots of practice test and his score got 5 points up in math. Science is little difficult but check on this forum there is a link to science tutorial video.

[Kathy in Richmond]

Since her scores are already good, I'd recommend prepping with a book like ACT 36 or SAT 2400. I tutor kids for SAT and ACT, and these books help a lot for getting those last few points.

 

Math is generally the easiest section to raise through practice, so she has a good chance to reach her goal on either test with some work. Good luck!:)

[Laura in CA]

ACT: English 35; Reading 34; Math 30; Science; 30. Only prep was a few practice tests the night before the test. Somehow forget calculator at home and had to use a friend's extra one, which had unfamiliar setup.

 

 

 

No advice, because we're at exactly the same point with my ps'd junior son. Just commiseration! After getting 800 on the SAT Math 2 subject test, he got a 30 on the ACT math portion -- because the day before at school, someone had taken 2 batteries (of the 4) out of his calculator! -- rendering it useless. That was a surprise ... :glare: I think it rattled him a little. I guess our kids' results prove you can get a decent score on the math part without a calculator, but maybe not a great score ... So, he's taking the ACT again in April.

 

We're in an area where SAT is king, but ACT is not impossible to find -- about a 40-minute drive either direction (and my son likes driving LOL :auto:). I'm glad we have the choice now between the two tests. He's taken the full SAT, and much prefers how the ACT is so straightforward -- get ALL the English over with, then do ALL the math, etc. ... and have the *optional* writing part LAST.

 

~Laura

 

P.S. And our mantra now is "Trust in God, but keep your powder dry ... and check your calculator batteries!" :D

[Jane in NC]

He's taken the full SAT, and much prefers how the ACT is so straightforward -- get ALL the English over with, then do ALL the math, etc. ... and have the *optional* writing part LAST.

 

 

My son noted that he preferred the positioning of the SAT writing at the beginning of the testing period. For students doing the optional ACT writing, it is a long haul. My son practically ate his test booklet.

 

That said, he much preferred the lay out of the ACT with 50-60 minute exams focused on a single subject area. Some of the SAT sections are longer but he disliked dancing between subject areas with 20 minutes here and 25 minutes there.

 

Back to the OPs question: All bets are off on the ACT Science portion. It seems to be the wildcard for a number of students. I have heard of some point swings on this part of the test which seem to be dependent on the kinds of questions asked.

[creekland]

I'd vote ACT. Science isn't that hard to bring up some with decent preparation (though it was still my guy's lowest score), and as others have said, the math can move rather easily. I'll second the recommendation for the ACT 36 book.

[Laura in CA]

My son noted that he preferred the positioning of the SAT writing at the beginning of the testing period. For students doing the optional ACT writing, it is a long haul. My son practically ate his test booklet.

 

Haha, my son is the opposite ... well, he wimped out and did the ACT without writing. :001_smile: So he got to go home at 11 or so. He's convinced he's not a good writer (I know otherwise -- it's a mental block). Anyway, in June he's signed up for the ACT *with* Writing -- to keep his options open wrt the UC system. I think he'll still prefer having the essay at the *end* of the test.

 

It's nice to have choices ... I know in some countries there is ONE college entrance test and that's what everyone takes ...

[AuntieM]

First thing I would do is look down the list of prospective college choices and make note of what each accepts. That may make your decision easier.

 

If I asked my senior this question, I believe he'd choose to work on the ACT. He did so and was able to raise his scores.

 

The science portion is not really a test of knowledge, it's reasoning. IIRC the Princeton Review ACT study guide has a good section on how to strategically tackle that portion of the test.

[Jane in NC]

I'd vote ACT. Science isn't that hard to bring up some with decent preparation (though it was still my guy's lowest score), and as others have said, the math can move rather easily. I'll second the recommendation for the ACT 36 book.

 

 

The science portion is not really a test of knowledge, it's reasoning. IIRC the Princeton Review ACT study guide has a good section on how to strategically tackle that portion of the test.

 

My son did well on the Science portion but I have heard more growls about this portion of the ACT than any other.

 

I'll retract my comment though based on greater expertise than mine. I'm going on hearsay!

[AuntieM]

My son did well on the Science portion but I have heard more growls about this portion of the ACT than any other.

 

I'll retract my comment though based on greater expertise than mine. I'm going on hearsay!

 

Haha, Jane, i always think of YOU as the one with greater experience! This was simply our experience, and what I learned from the reading I did about the changes made to the ACT a few years ago.

[creekland]

My son did well on the Science portion but I have heard more growls about this portion of the ACT than any other.

 

I'll retract my comment though based on greater expertise than mine. I'm going on hearsay!

 

I don't think you need to retract your comments. Science is variable pending the test. My guy missed 3 questions and got a 32 on his best test (for science). The curve was harsh that testing date. On a different test he could have missed 3 questions and gotten a 34. Of course, the fact that the latter test was "more difficult" means it should have been more difficult to only miss three, but when one is up at that tippy top, no one truly can predict much.

 

I agree that it's not really a science test. When I look at previous tests there are generally no questions that need to be "known" from science (sometimes one or two at most). All the rest one can get from the reading and/or the graphs. Knowing the science can help one move more quickly, but that's the only edge I see.

 

Colleges have told me they prefer to look at the English and Math portions over the Reading and Science portions for admissions, but I suspect that only goes to a point. Who knows?

[elizabeth]

In our city of 65,000 there is not one high school that offers the SAT. We have had our daughter take the PSAT exams for practice and hit the magic mark. We are forced to drive over an hour away to get her to a SAT exam yet they offer the ACT at every high school in our city. We are in flyover country. My number one task as soon as she is done with the SAT in June is to go after the superintendent who has so little regard for the talent pool here that she will not make the effort to designate one school in our city for SAT examinations. If you have the facility ok'd for the PSAT then the SAT is a matter of paperwork. I loathe bureaucrats and look forward to showing this one how one achieves excellence and it is not by lowering grade standards or hiding behind the old we only offer the ACT as that is the better test blah, blah , blah. She built a huge middle school and promoted its importance to the community based on her assertion that it will eventually be an IB school. So what? That is irrelevant to this community and matters not a whit to college admissions committees. My cousin sits on the committee at Stanford where she is also an instructor and I am assured that IB designation means nothing. The SAT and Subject tests are where they look for shining scores from students. There are no SAT subject tests in our city either so we have to jump through hoops to find those. I have taught three AP exams and paid proctors to administer the exams as the courses were not offered in our city anywhere. If I were as lazy and incompetent I am reasonably certain that the bar association would take my license to practice law and I would lose the right to educate my child in Iowa. Sadly those standards do not apply to the guidance counselors who are nothing less than useless nor to the superintendent. I anticipate much exuse making and doublespeak(edubabble) when I finally can get a meeting scheduled with her. Fortunately the largest newspaper in the state has a few friends of mine on staff who are eager to expose this person for her many failures and utter lack of honesty with the public. Game on. :lol: She picked the wrong home educator to lie to and patronize with her assertion that no competitive schools need either the SAT or subject tests. I guess she never was asked to apply to Brown or Columbia based on her test scores. I am looking forward to serving her a plate of humble pie . Rant over . Thank you for reading this far. I will keep the board abreast of any developments if there is interest.

[FaithManor]

In our city of 65,000 there is not one high school that offers the SAT. We have had our daughter take the PSAT exams for practice and hit the magic mark. We are forced to drive over an hour away to get her to a SAT exam yet they offer the ACT at every high school in our city. We are in flyover country. My number one task as soon as she is done with the SAT in June is to go after the superintendent who has so little regard for the talent pool here that she will not make the effort to designate one school in our city for SAT examinations. If you have the facility ok'd for the PSAT then the SAT is a matter of paperwork. I loathe bureaucrats and look forward to showing this one how one achieves excellence and it is not by lowering grade standards or hiding behind the old we only offer the ACT as that is the better test blah, blah , blah. She built a huge middle school and promoted its importance to the community based on her assertion that it will eventually be an IB school. So what? That is irrelevant to this community and matters not a whit to college admissions committees. My cousin sits on the committee at Stanford where she is also an instructor and I am assured that IB designation means nothing. The SAT and Subject tests are where they look for shining scores from students. There are no SAT subject tests in our city either so we have to jump through hoops to find those. I have taught three AP exams and paid proctors to administer the exams as the courses were not offered in our city anywhere. If I were as lazy and incompetent I am reasonably certain that the bar association would take my license to practice law and I would lose the right to educate my child in Iowa. Sadly those standards do not apply to the guidance counselors who are nothing less than useless nor to the superintendent. I anticipate much exuse making and doublespeak(edubabble) when I finally can get a meeting scheduled with her. Fortunately the largest newspaper in the state has a few friends of mine on staff who are eager to expose this person for her many failures and utter lack of honesty with the public. Game on. :lol: She picked the wrong home educator to lie to and patronize with her assertion that no competitive schools need either the SAT or subject tests. I guess she never was asked to apply to Brown or Columbia based on her test scores. I am looking forward to serving her a plate of humble pie . Rant over . Thank you for reading this far. I will keep the board abreast of any developments if there is interest.

 

 

:smash::smash: Feeling your pain!!!!!

 

 

The nearest testing site for SAT, SAT subject tests, and PSAT is 1 hr. 45 min. away. Testing starts at 8:00 a.m. and the line is almost two hrs. long because so many students from the outlying come there for the test. We have to leave at 4:00 a.m. to make sure he'll be checked in by test start time. We gave up!

 

NO AP's this year at the local school...budget cuts, NCLB means they are spending all the money on remedial classes, extra study halls with tutors, etc. no money left for the talented, college bound student.

 

I do have a line on a Christian high school an hr. from here that offers all the AP's we are interested in and they are more than happy for ds to sit the exams there. Whew!

 

Don't start me on the whole mess...I'm working part time now as a guidance counselor (I'm a good one :D and after a conference with others in the county, I can tell you that ALL of them were drawing a paycheck for doing virtually nothing) and the collosal ignorance of faculty, administrators, parents, and students as pertains to post-high school education and HOW TO GET IT, is nothing short of mind boggling. I guess that's why so very, very, very few of even the valedictorians and salutatorians go onto any other college except "Exceedingly crappy always on the verge of losing some accredidation for something other uni's laugh at us" regional U commuting distance down the road. ARGGGGGHHHHH!

 

Sigh...

Faith

[elizabeth]

Faith, I hate to say it but your candor and frustration make mine lighter. A shared burden is lighter. Thank you for your response and I hope that our young people finally get more counselors just like you!!! I am delighted that you might have found a place for your son to take the AP exams. It is astounding what we do because there is no one to do it for us eh?? Best of luck and I will share when the SAT situation develops as my daughter is going to sign up for it in Nebraska. I will however raise all manner of heck to make sure every child who wants to sit for it has a place to take it. That is not equal access for every student and it bothers me deeply. Thanks for commiserating.

[FaithManor]

Elizabeth! You and me against the system...at least we have a liked minded friend to commisserate with as we face the battle.

 

Sad to say, I don't know how dumb the school counselor was that you were dealing with, but I have actually met one that could not name any tier 1 universities besides Harvard, Princeton, Yale, U of M, and MSU...seriously the man did not know the what LAC stands for! :glare: He's a graduate of crappy U down the road and well, LUCKY US :tongue_smilie:, he came back to this community to "serve". Oh, don't we feel honored.

 

I better stop. I'm trying to NOT go on blood pressure meds!

 

Faith

[creekland]

Ok, I'm feeling better now. ;) We only have to go to the local Catholic High School to get the ACT and AP tests, and it's just in the next town (20 minutes). The ACT is only offered twice per year (there), but at least it is offered!

 

AND, this year for the first time, our school is offering the PLAN test in April. I asked if we'd be offering the ACT anytime soon and was told, "not yet, but we'll see."

 

In our college searching all schools have accepted either the SAT or ACT and those who had a preference told us they prefer the ACT (but still accept either - they just consider the ACT the better test due to the difference between the two). The vast majority said they had no preference. A couple wanted SAT 2 tests if submitting the SAT, but not if submitting the ACT. Then there are a few who want some SAT subject tests anyway (esp in CA and a few Ivies).

 

From my personal experience (limited, of course), students who have taken both tend to do "better" on the ACT by a 75%/25% margin. So far, both of mine have been in the 75%. But, we're in an SAT dominant area. Perhaps what we should have done is trade houses? ;)

 

I wish you both the best as I'd like to see ALL schools offer both. That's what I grew up with and that's what I believe SHOULD happen... I'm not quite sure why some powers-that-be insist on one test fitting all students. Even in my informal polling, 25% still do better on the SAT. They ought to have their chance to show their best.