By Ragini Devala
Features Editor
Although this title may cause your stress levels to go up, I’m here to guide you in making the best decision to impress colleges. Half the school year is over, but there's still time for you to decide which is best for you to take.
The ACT used to be administered in the Midwest, and the SAT in all other areas, but times have changed and they are both becoming increasingly popular nationwide. So what’s the difference?
The main purpose of the SAT is to test critical thinking and problem solving skills. This test has just been redesigned and will make its debut in March 2016. The new tests consists of just two sections – Math, and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing. The score is now back to the original score, 1600. Some of the good changes CollegeBoard has made with the SAT include four answer choices per question as opposed to the old five choices, no penalty for incorrect answers, an optional essay, no more sentence completion, and less questions all together.
On the other hand, the main objective of the ACT is analyzing the context of the test. This test consists of four sections – Math, Reading, Science and English. There is also an optional writing test, just like the SAT. The score ranges from 1 to 36 for each test, and there is no penalty for wrong answers. Although there is an extra science section, compared to the SAT, the test is based on interpretation of what the information in the passages and graphs. The reading section only consists of reading comprehension, unlike the SAT which includes the knowledge of many vocabulary words.
In my opinion, neither test is better than the other – there are pros and cons to each.
The SAT required more outside information, especially with the vocabulary sections. The questions are much more confusing and require critical thinking skills to decipher what the question actually is.
The ACT questions are much more straightforward. The questions may have a higher difficulty level, but it is easy to know what you are solving for. The worst thing about the ACT, however, is the time-management. You need ridiculously amazing time management skills for this test – it is EVERYTHING.
Since the ACT has only one section for each subject, you must be able to pace yourself, because there’s no making up for missed questions in the future sections, like the SAT gives you.
This is all overwhelming, but I can assure you that you will succeed with whatever test you choose – so take a deep breath and STUDY, STUDY, STUDY! Good Luck :)
Features Editor
Although this title may cause your stress levels to go up, I’m here to guide you in making the best decision to impress colleges. Half the school year is over, but there's still time for you to decide which is best for you to take.
The ACT used to be administered in the Midwest, and the SAT in all other areas, but times have changed and they are both becoming increasingly popular nationwide. So what’s the difference?
The main purpose of the SAT is to test critical thinking and problem solving skills. This test has just been redesigned and will make its debut in March 2016. The new tests consists of just two sections – Math, and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing. The score is now back to the original score, 1600. Some of the good changes CollegeBoard has made with the SAT include four answer choices per question as opposed to the old five choices, no penalty for incorrect answers, an optional essay, no more sentence completion, and less questions all together.
On the other hand, the main objective of the ACT is analyzing the context of the test. This test consists of four sections – Math, Reading, Science and English. There is also an optional writing test, just like the SAT. The score ranges from 1 to 36 for each test, and there is no penalty for wrong answers. Although there is an extra science section, compared to the SAT, the test is based on interpretation of what the information in the passages and graphs. The reading section only consists of reading comprehension, unlike the SAT which includes the knowledge of many vocabulary words.
In my opinion, neither test is better than the other – there are pros and cons to each.
The SAT required more outside information, especially with the vocabulary sections. The questions are much more confusing and require critical thinking skills to decipher what the question actually is.
The ACT questions are much more straightforward. The questions may have a higher difficulty level, but it is easy to know what you are solving for. The worst thing about the ACT, however, is the time-management. You need ridiculously amazing time management skills for this test – it is EVERYTHING.
Since the ACT has only one section for each subject, you must be able to pace yourself, because there’s no making up for missed questions in the future sections, like the SAT gives you.
This is all overwhelming, but I can assure you that you will succeed with whatever test you choose – so take a deep breath and STUDY, STUDY, STUDY! Good Luck :)