Get Schooled

By Linda

March 28, 2006 09:05 AM | Link to this

My daughter took both the SAT and the ACT. She did a lot better on the ACT. She said it was a easier test to understand. Her SAT scores were not the greatest the first time she took it but she aced the ACT on her first time taking it. Parents and students need to know that colleges will accept both test.

By Veteran

March 28, 2006 09:24 AM | Link to this

If you have been following the changes in the SAT, you know that it no longer claims to be an “aptitude” test; like the ACT, it is now billed as an “achievement” test. Both tests now focus on specific knowledge (critical reading, grammar, writing, higher level math skills). The SAT no longer tests students using analogies or, as in my day, antonyms, and College Board acknowledges that to study 30,000 vocabulary words is ridiculous. So, they changed to a more complex passage-based critical reading system (short/long/paired). The ACT, on the other hand, tests students by presenting information in passages directly related not only to literary fiction and non-fiction, but also to science (including physical science, biology, and chemistry, with a touch of physics), and social studies. The math sections seem to be comparable. Whew!

My 12th graders always seem to think that if they perform poorly on the SAT, then the ACT is a way to fix the problem. Wrong. I ALMOST NEVER have a student score significantly better on one test than on the other (and comparison charts are available online), at least not to the point that all of a sudden the student is accepted to the school of his dreams based on one test score versus another. Instead, I tell students to “pick your poison,” and then prepare for that one test - do anything realistic to get ready to post the best score possible: take the tougher classes, sign up for SAT prep classes, READ! In Georgia, thanks to HOPE Scholarship, universities only want 2 numbers - a GPA and an SAT/ACT score. So … get ready (and don’t wait until the night before).

By jay patel

March 28, 2006 09:32 AM | Link to this

The ACT’s are definitely more predictive of a student’s capabilities. The SAT’s are almost outdated and are regularly being replaced by the ACT’s. The thing with it is that you are trying to capture a person’s true knowledge and ability to apply it to sciences. Where as the SAT’s deal exclusively with math and english thus gauging a very narrow spectrum of knowledge. But this will be a good debate to follow in the future.

By John

March 28, 2006 09:37 AM | Link to this

Neither Neither test has proven to be an accurate indicator of academic success. Both just provide a means for some people to have a job and makes lots of money with a captive audience multiple times a year. The answers to the questions are not even accurate - it is simply the best answer as the committee sees it. If you want to be a real newspaper, why not do some unbiased research on the whole procedure.

By Beverly

March 28, 2006 09:40 AM | Link to this

I graduated from high school eons ago and we took the ACT. Later I was led to believe that the ACT was inferior to the SAT. With all the errors discovered lately, however, that view may change.

By Atl Pearl Girl

March 28, 2006 10:01 AM | Link to this

Why do they have two again?

By Veteran

March 28, 2006 10:11 AM | Link to this

Atl Pearl Girl: It’s all about the money, honey. If the 2 companies can convince parents/students that darling child can do better on one test than on the other, then mommy and daddy will shell out money for both. It’s like asking why we have Fords AND Chevrolets…

By Leia

March 28, 2006 10:25 AM | Link to this

Veteran - excellent response - and oh, so true!

By JS

March 28, 2006 10:25 AM | Link to this

I took both the SAT and ACT when I was preparing for college. I scored in the 20 percentile in SAT Verbal, but in the 85 percentile in ACT’s reading comprehension. Overall, I scored around 1000 in SAT but 1400 equivalent in ACT. I went on to a top 25 school and graduated with a decent GPA. If the tests are meant to predict college success, based on my personal experience, I would say that ACT is a superior test.

By James

March 28, 2006 10:27 AM | Link to this

My daughter is a Jr. in high school. She has already taken the SAT. She made an above average score, but feels that the SAT doesn’t test her knowledge in all areas.

In a few weeks, she will take the ACT. Once she receives her score from the ACT, I will have a better gauge of the two tests for her ability to get into her preferred university.

She is a member of the Beta Club and has a combined average of 95 in all of her college prep classes. As a parent, how do we actually gauge her high school’s ability to teach? Is the SAT or ACT a better tool?

We, parents, want to be assured that our schools are doing their job of teaching our children, the leaders of tomorrow.

By tracy

March 28, 2006 12:05 PM | Link to this

Hi, My son has a 3.0 GPA and he scored pass plus on the high school graduation test but for some reason both the SAT and the ACT have scared him he has taken the SAT twice and the ACT once and has not done well on them.He is scheduled to re-take both test.I don not think the tests tell a lot about a person. A lot of schools have stopped accepting both tests.A friend of mine daughter did not do well enough to get in school in Georgia so she is now in ALabama and on the Dean’s list.

By Angela

March 28, 2006 12:06 PM | Link to this

I’m a high school senior and the ACT was WAY better!! I got a better score and it was a better test! it was way shorter, which helped a lot and it was less stressful to take, since the SAT has a built up stigma attached to it! Georgia colleges need to be more accepting to the ACT and Georgia High Schools need to encourage students to take both and not just focus on the SAT.

By Robert

March 28, 2006 12:08 PM | Link to this

Not all colleges accept every test…. You need to find out what test(s) your selected college(s) will accept. Some colleges take both ACT and SAT. Some colleges only take SAT. Some colleges only take ACT. Some colleges do not need either!

As I advise my students….. decide what your area of interest might be first (liberal arts, science/medicine, computers, etc.), then find out what colleges offer degrees in that area, then find out what those colleges require for admission and go for it. If a student is completely clueless as to what their area of interest is, then I advise them to consider either a big university that has tons of majors, or a small college where they could then transfer from once they figure that out.

By gatorchels

March 28, 2006 12:25 PM | Link to this

I personally liked the ACT alot better. I felt more comfortable taking it. My score between the two jumped over 200 points, and it put me in a whole different range in terms of schools that I could apply to, if I wanted.

By Noel

March 28, 2006 12:45 PM | Link to this

As a college counselor for many years, I always wondered about the big push for SAT scores. The ACT is a superior test in the fact that it tests different areas of knowledge. For example, if a person is a social science major, I am not as worried about science and math scores and evaluate accordingly.

I guess SAT spent more money wooing college admission folks than ACT. ACT just gives a more balanced view of the student.

By sped teacher

March 28, 2006 12:50 PM | Link to this

I took the SAT back when I was preparing for college (1995-1996—my junior year). I never really heard much about the ACT—it was all about the SAT.

Based on experience, I prefer the SAT.

By oldteacher

March 28, 2006 02:27 PM | Link to this

I never heard one word about the ACT when I was getting ready to go to college.

By Carrie

March 28, 2006 02:46 PM | Link to this

It sounds like some people prefer the ACT because it is easier and they could score higher on it.

By Ryan

March 28, 2006 03:26 PM | Link to this

I took both the ACT and SAT in 2000 and scored a 30 and 1330, respectively. Despite the scores being roughly equivilant to each other, I felt that the ACT was “easier”. Save for the math section, the ACT is straight reading comprehension broken up into literature and science sections.

Interestingly, the test administered by UGA’s business school to gain admission into a major is extremely close to the ACT. It even had a science section.

The ACT and SAT both serve a purpose. And while they may vary slightly between them, extreme differences in scoring shouldn’t happen. I would chalk these aberations up to a student being less stressed going into an ACT than an SAT (in Georgia) because the ACT has a certain amount of mystery to it here while the SAT is hyped from middle school on as your only ticket to a good college. It’s really hard for a lot of kids to get over that mental hurdle.

By Steve

March 28, 2006 03:27 PM | Link to this

Angela: You are saying that the ACT is “way better” because you got a better score? It’s a better test because it’s “way shorter?”

God help us if our future is in the hands of Georgia public schools.

By jim d

March 28, 2006 03:34 PM | Link to this

Patti,

I’m not sure that it really matters.

Both are capable of screwing up test results.

By J

March 28, 2006 03:36 PM | Link to this

Back in High School, in Florida, I took both tests. I liked the ACT better because it tested more areas than the SAT did. Of course also took them both because I thought it was required. - Our school made it seem like you had to take them both, not that there was an option.

By C.R.H.

March 28, 2006 03:49 PM | Link to this

I’m from the midwest, graduated many moons ago. I also took the ACT, only kids trying to get into Ivy League schools bothered with the SAT (because that was the only test score they accepted). That is another reason why I know using SAT scores to rank state’s educational systems is MASSIVELY flawed. Here it seems like EVERYONE takes the SAT including those not having a prayer of getting into college, in the midwestern states and many others, only the top tier (Ivy Leaguers) students bother with the SAT. IMHO the SAT is very over rated as an indicator of academic success.

By hs sped

March 28, 2006 03:50 PM | Link to this

I took the SAT in 1980, because, like oldteacher, I never knew the ACT existed. But hey, if the ACT is easier, then I’m all for it. I have to wonder, though, why is the SAT I comparable to the ACT, but the SAT II is not? What is the difference between the SAT I and the SAT II and which, if not both, do the universities want?

By Lynn

March 28, 2006 04:18 PM | Link to this

Steve, When my daughter took the new SAT in June, she was there for over 5 hours with two 5 minute breaks. The ACT was 4 hours or more. With the pressure and stress involved, the SAT is too long. In addition, in my opinion, the SAT tries to trick students in the way the questions are asked. That is why students who can afford to take the SAT prep courses are taught ways to look for the clues of a trick question. I don’t know how many colleges don’t take the ACT, but four years ago when my older cgild was looking at colleges, there were only 12 colleges in the country that didn’t take the ACT. The one that I remember that didn’t was Wake Forest.

By Lynn

March 28, 2006 04:30 PM | Link to this

The SAT II’s are what used to be called the subject tests, and I think that is what they are called now. You can take three in one test setting. They last an hour each. They include foreign languages, US history, two math tests, world history, physics, chemistry, literature, biology etc. Many private colleges require three SAT subject tests.

They used to have a SAT II writing test, which was very similar to the writing test that is now a part of the new SAT Reasoning test.

The ACT writing test is optional. Once you take the ACT and get a good writing test score, you don’t necessarily have to take that part of it the next time you take the ACT. You can concentrate on the other four subtests. On the SAT, you have to take the writing part every time you take the SAT.

By Jane

March 28, 2006 05:29 PM | Link to this

You should go to the blog on “Should I take my kids into a liquor store? It went from this questions to total religion!!! Oh my goodness……….

By JW

March 28, 2006 05:45 PM | Link to this

Here is a question I have wondered about for a while: Why do we always read about Georgia’s “dreadful” SAT ranking, but we never really see anything about the ACT rankings? It would be interesting to find out where Georgia ranks on the ACT since many students apparently do not take the ACT.

In Georgia, the 2004 SAT participation rate was 74%. In Mississippi, North & South Dakota, and Iowa, the rate was 5%. I wonder if Georgia would really “rank” 49th if we were not being compared to states with such low participation rates. In other words, how are the ACT scores in Mississippi and Iowa? Are they really that much better than Georgia? I doubt it. Meanwhile, Georgia schools continue to get hammered in the media and in editorials because The College Board ranks states based on SAT averages, while strongly “discouraging the comparison or ranking of states on the basis of SAT scores alone.” Anyone have info on ACT results for Georgia?

By HS STUDENT

March 28, 2006 07:41 PM | Link to this

As a high school student, I can say that the ACT is so much better than the SAT. The ACT has non-IQ based questions.

By V for Vendetta

March 28, 2006 08:32 PM | Link to this

Does it really matter? I think students should take both simply to maximize their potential for a high score. It seems silly to let everything ride on just one test, the SAT. Then again, it seems silly to let everything ride on standardized tests in general. Personally, I scored much higher on the ACT than on the SAT. The reason is pretty simple; math. The SAT has a LOT of math on it, the ACT is more well-rounded. My converted ACT score was nearly 150 points higher than my SAT score. No, it wasn’t a 151 thank you very much. :-)

By Leia

March 28, 2006 08:44 PM | Link to this

When I was in high school (in the 70s) the SAT was “the” test to take. The ACT was for those kids who weren’t planning on getting into a decent school anyway. I never heard much about it until I moved down here!

By luvs2teach

March 28, 2006 08:52 PM | Link to this

I took the SAT in 1982 - I was aware of the ACT, but the colleges I was interested in didn’t need or want it. It was much easier at the time to take the SAT - the ACT was much more limited in testing sites and dates.

My daughter, now a college freshman, took the SAT one time. Her score was sufficient for the school she was interested in, so we didn’t even consider taking it again or taking the ACT instead.

By collegefreshman

March 29, 2006 08:08 AM | Link to this

Speaking as a former high school student who never tested well, I did not prefer the SAT or the ACT. I did about the same on both, way below the average. My testing problems made school difficult, but I figured out that colleges aen’t always just worried about test scores. I attend Goucher College, and I am 95% sure that my essays were a big part what got me in, not my SATs.
Tests are no way to gauge a student’s success. If anything, they are torutrous and painful.

By Linda

March 29, 2006 08:36 AM | Link to this

I have know student who took both the SAT and the ACT. Most students are told to prepare for the SAT and I think it puts a lot of pressure on the student. It is a mind game. We put so much pressure on our children telling them, ‘you must score high on the SAT’s’. When they take the test they are under so much pressure they panic. Because we don’t talk about the ACT as much, I think that students are more relaxed when taking that test so they tend to do better. The test are very similar. But just because a student doesn’t do well on these test doesn’t mean they won’t do well in college. I think that colleges should look at the whole student and don’t base their decision on a test that has as many flaws as the SAT does. Some students just don’t test well under pressure.

By Patti Ghezzi

March 29, 2006 04:11 PM | Link to this

Hey all, the only college I’m aware of that does not take the ACT is Wake Forest. Please let me know others so I can include it in future stories. Thanks!