The Score Newsletter, Issue #5: SAT vs. ACT - Choosing the Right Test (Part 1)
A Detailed Comparison of the SAT and ACT Reading Tests from Dave Walker of Walker Prep
This week, we delve into the first installment of a three-part series aiming to illuminate the key differences between the digital SAT and ACT. I hope the series helps you make an informed, strategically sound decision about which test you, your child, or your test prep student should choose.
Today's discussion centers on a comparison of the reading sections of the ACT and digital SAT.
The Importance of Choosing One Test
As a test prep tutor, I’m often asked whether it makes sense to prepare for both the SAT and ACT. I generally advise against it. For the vast majority, dividing test prep efforts in such a way will prove counterproductive. Due to the distinct differences between the two exams, each necessitates its own unique preparation. Attempting to straddle both can significantly dilute score gains.
Establishing a Baseline
One of the best ways to initiate the decision-making process is to have your student take a full-length, timed practice test for both the SAT and ACT. These should be official practice tests, available in the College Board Bluebook app and the Official ACT Prep Guide.
After taking both tests, consider two key questions:
Does the student have a strong preference for one test over the other? This is an important consideration, as they'll spend significant time preparing for the test.
How do the student's percentile rankings for both tests compare? A difference of 5% or higher should be considered significant. On the College Board and ACT Org websites, you can find concordances matching scores and percentile rankings.
Comparing the Reading Sections: SAT vs ACT
Time Allotment and Pacing
The SAT Reading & Writing Test affords students 64 minutes to answer 54 questions, while the ACT Reading Test allots 35 minutes for 40 questions. (On the digital SAT, approximately 28 of the 54 questions will be reading. The others test punctuation, grammar, and rhetoric.) For more details on the timing breakdown of the digital SAT, click here.
Despite the SAT offering more time per question, the complexity of the questions on SAT Reading tends to be more challenging. This often negates its apparent time advantage, especially for students who haven’t demonstrated a penchant for performing complex analytical tasks.
Passage Content
Both tests include passages from literature, social sciences, and natural sciences. Passages on ACT Reading are significantly longer than passages on digital SAT Reading.
But more time and shorter passages don’t necessarily make for easier questions. The digital SAT Reading focuses heavily on “Command of Evidence” questions, which can be daunting, especially for students unfamiliar with the basics of formal logic (i.e., almost all students except those who attend schools with classical education curricula). These questions can be extremely challenging even for academically high-achieving students.
It’s important not to be too quick to dismiss the potential roadblock to score improvement posed by digital SAT Command of Evidence questions. Based on my experience as an SAT tutor, I know that this difficulty is not one that can be difficult to overcome without very disciplined commitment to memorizing and practicing strategies and tactics.
Question Types
Both tests include questions about main ideas, details, vocabulary in context, and inferences, but the SAT also has data interpretation questions and the aforementioned heavy focus on Command of Evidence questions.
For the most part, the SAT’s data interpretation questions (i.e., questions involving graphs/tables) are not particularly daunting. However, Command of Evidence is another story. These often require students to engage in a granular level of analysis of the logic of the passage and answer choices, making them some of the most challenging on digital SAT Reading, and more analytically rigorous than anything you’re likely to encounter on ACT Reading.
Complexity of Passages
The complexity of the passages on the SAT varies, while on the ACT, the difficulty is more consistent. The SAT tends to use more complex vocabulary and sentence structures, requiring a higher level of analytical thinking skills. Again, this renders the apparent time advantage of the SAT less of a factor, if not entirely moot.
The Bottom Line on ACT versus SAT Reading
In summary, the SAT Reading Test may be more suited to highly analytical students comfortable with the unique challenges posed by the higher overall level of the passages and Command of Evidence questions.
On the other hand, the ACT Reading Test may be a better fit for students with solid reading comprehension skills who prefer more straightforward reading tasks, rather than deep analysis.
More To Consider
Remember, these are generalizations, and each student is unique. It's crucial to take into consideration all individual strengths, weaknesses, and preferences when choosing the right test.
Also, the differences between the Reading sections are just one piece of the puzzle. Our exploration into the SAT vs. ACT continues in Part Two of this series, where we’ll delve into the ACT English and SAT Writing sections and address the unique ACT Science section.
See you then!
~ Dave Walker