Our expert team at KevsMill Tutoring share their perspective on each.
There are some big format considerations to take into account when making your decision.
Setting: The SAT can only be taken online while the ACT can be taken pencil to paper or online.
Length: The SAT tests two areas–English and Math and is 2 ¼ hours long; the ACT tests four areas–—English, Math, Reading, and Science and is 3 hours long.
The SAT consists of 154 questions vs. ACT’s 215 questions
Format: The SAT is adaptive, made up of two “modules” per area; after completing 27 questions/32 minutes in English, you are given a second set of 27 questions/32 minutes at the level reflective of your success on the first set. Then you follow the same protocol for math, with 22 questions/35 minutes per module.
In the “English” section of the SAT you are tested on grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, rhetorical skills, along with reading comprehension. In the ACT, reading comprehension and rhetorical skills are tested in two different sections called “Reading” and “Science”, while grammar and punctuation are tested in a third section called “English.”
Finally, reading comprehension passages are brief and correspond to one question on the SAT while each longer passage applies to 10 questions on the ACT.
An argument for the ACT: For one, you can get a number of answers wrong and still get a high score (there are about 40% more questions on the ACT). Secondly, you can start slowly and still get a high score on the ACT, whereas if you don’t do well on the first module of an SAT section you receive an easier second module, and an easier second module does not allow for the highest scores. Finally, you can get more engaged with a longer text on the ACT.
An argument for the SAT: For one, because the first module of each SAT section is a lower level ACT question, the student can organically warm up. Secondly, you can be less engaged in particular reading comprehension passages and still score well on the SAT because there’s only one question per passage on the SAT vs.10 questions per passage on the ACT. Finally, the SAT is 75% as long as the ACT. Those who struggle with maintaining poise over an extended time may find the SAT more to their liking.
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