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We have outlined the basics of the ACT and the SAT tests on our blog this month and now it is time for a head to head challenge of the two! We will give you our expert tips on taking, preparing for and improving scores. We will also give some insider tips on how these tests impact college applications.
Taking The Plunge
Whether a student plans to focus on the ACT or the SAT, we recommend coming in to see us to take one free test. (Each test costs about $55 every time, so we are here to help save you some money!) This will establish a baseline and then you and your student can figure out where to go from there.
Unless that first score is REALLY high, chances are a re-test is in the future. We don’t recommend just going in and taking the test again without doing some prep work. Prep classes can really help improve scores. It’s not about necessarily learning the material; it is about how to do better on the test.
We recommend that most students take the ACT or SAT between 2 and 4 times. If your student will be in pre-calc at the beginning of junior year, he/she should be taking the test during the fall. If your student will be in Algebra 2 or below, plan on taking the test for the first time in February. This way, they can retake in April if necessary.
Improving Test Scores
We have found that it is easier for most students to improve scores on the ACT test rather than the SAT test. Unless you are particularly exceptional at math and you are a slower reader, the ACT is going to be a much better test. We have found that it is harder to improve an SAT score.
Which Test Do Colleges Prefer?
There is always some concern that a student will take the “wrong” test and the college of their choice will accept one test and not the other. That is not the case anymore, and it doesn’t matter where you live and where your college of choice is located. There seemed to be a bit of an east coast/west coast battle for many years – east coast was more SAT and the west coast was more ACT, but again times have changed. We recommend focusing on one test.
What About Super Scoring?
Have you heard about super scoring and wondered if it would help your student get into a preferred college? Well, super scoring can be used on both ACT and SAT tests. The caveat to this is that not all colleges super score. Most colleges super score the SAT test, but they do not super score the ACT. For our Buff fans, note that CU super scores both the ACT and the SAT.
It can be a bit confusing so we will break it down for you. Super scoring is based on the idea that if a student were to take either the ACT or the SAT test multiple times, they should be able to send their best score in each category to the school in which they are applying. Here is how it would shake out for a potential student.
Let’s say a student takes the ACT twice and receives the following scores:
Test 1
English – 28
Math – 28
Reading – 26
Science – 26
Composite – 27
Test 2
English – 26
Math – 26
Reading – 28
Science – 28
Composite – 27
Note that each time the student took the ACT test they received a composite score of a 27. However, if a college they are applying to super scores their test results, then for that college, they will have the following score:
English – 28
Math – 28
Reading – 28
Science – 28
Composite – 28
By super scoring the ACT test for this student, they would be able to raise their overall ACT score by one point. It is up to each individual college to do super scoring. If this potential student were to take the ACT test for a third time and score lower across the board, that set of scores could be omitted from her/his application. This is important to note: a student can send only the best scores for the ACT test.
Now, let’s show you how the SAT works EXACTLY same way:
Test 1
Reading – 700
Math – 600
Test 2
Reading – 600
Math – 700
The super score would give this student a 700 on each section. With the SAT, however, if this student were to take a third test and get a 500 on each section, the SAT would also send that score to colleges. With the SAT, you must send all your scores. This can sometimes add stress for students and parents; however, sending all scores isn’t terrible because all colleges will take your highest score, even if they do not super score.
At Elite Academics we believe that super scoring is fine because it doesn’t really require any additional effort and can be helpful sometimes. However, since we feel that the ACT is a better test for score improvements and since most schools do not super score the ACT, we don’t necessarily have a strong opinion.
On the flip side, most schools super score the SAT and parents will wonder why we don’t necessarily recommend focusing on the SAT. Again, we believe that the SAT is a much harder test and most students can work to improve their ACT scores. So, the benefit of more colleges super scoring the SAT is a bit of a wash in our opinion.
Changes To ACT/SAT In 2017
For our Colorado friends, in case you haven’t heard, the Colorado Department of Education announced that a selection committee chose the College Board, the makers of the SAT test, over the company that creates the ACT test for assessing students. Therefore, starting in the spring of 2017, high school sophomores will be required to take the PSAT test and juniors will be required to take the SAT test. These two tests will be offered in the spring each year for at least the next 5 years. (It should be noted that these are the free tests offered and any student is welcome to still take the ACT or the SAT multiple times, but fees will apply.)
This, however, doesn’t change our stance on the ACT test. We believe the ACT to be the winner of this head to head battle!