By: Ben Sexton
This past year, to our surprise, the Digital SAT was overwhelmingly popular despite its being a
new test. Students loved the shorter test, shorter reading passages, and flashy
onscreen calculator. Students chose to prepare for SAT over ACT by a ratio of about
3:1.
Rising juniors usually begin their SAT/ACT testing by taking mock tests in the
summer – many of our upcoming students are taking their mock tests this month in
June. When students take both tests, they frequently say they prefer the SAT because it
“feels easier.” But don’t sleep on the ACT! Yes, it’s longer, has longer reading passages,
more math, and (gasp!) a Science section. However, students who prepared for ACT
this past year in many cases made massive score improvements. From their original
mock tests, for example, I had students improve from 28 to 36, 25 to 35, and 25 to 36.
The ACT might “feel harder” at the beginning, but that does not mean that it actually is
harder.
Each test has its advantages, but the ACT has one big advantage: it’s predictable.
Nearly 100 previously given ACT tests are available on the internet, including all the
most recently released ones. Students who use these tests can be nearly certain they
will encounter familiar questions on their actual ACTs. As such, ACT score
improvements tend to follow a linear path: the more practice tests a student does, the
more their score will improve.
The Digital SAT, on the other hand, is still a little unpredictable because it is new. After
working on the only four available practice tests at the time, students who took the
March SAT found that test to be significantly harder than what they had practiced in
many cases. College Board has now released Tests 5 and 6, both of which appear to be
more accurate in mirroring the actual difficulty of the test, and over the next couple of
years, more tests will come out. In that time, the tutoring world will become more
familiar with all the material on the SAT, but for now, the limited amount of practice
material makes the actual SAT a bit unpredictable: students will likely see some
question types they haven’t seen before, especially in the second, harder Math module.
Students who perform comparatively better on a mock SAT should still strongly
consider taking the SAT, as it has its advantages as well. But if the SAT/ACT results are
even, and the student just wants to say “SAT!” because it “felt easier,” give the ACT a
chance! Even though it can feel harder right off the bat, students may get the best score
improvements on it.
We’re happy to break down your mock test results with you and help you make a
testing decision based on our years of data and score results. Once you get your mock
test reports in hand, please reach out to us!
