by Vivian Madison

Created on: July 31, 2010

Most high school students who plan to go to college must take either the SAT or the ACT, or both.  Whether you are taking both or only one, it is important to know the differences between the tests so that you are better prepared for the tests.  Familiarity with the SAT and ACT is one of the keys to performing well.  Having instructed students in test-taking strategies for both of these tests for the past six years, I am quite familiar with the SAT and ACT.

Traditionally, Ivy League schools and schools on the east and west coasts prefer to see scores from the SAT, while mid-western schools accept the ACT.  Research the schools you are interested in attending in order to find out which test they prefer or if they will accept either.  If the school you wish to attend accepts either, you can submit scores from both tests, or choose the one you will perform better on.

The SAT and ACT are scored differently.  On the SAT, you receive one point for each correct answer, lose a quarter of a point for each incorrect answer, and receive zero points for no answer.  This means that you should not answer a question if you are just making a random guess.  Answer the questions you are sure of and leave blank the ones you have no idea how to answer.  If you can confidently eliminate two answer choices, then guess between the remaining three.  The ACT awards one point per correct answer and zero points for both incorrect answers and blanks.  This means you should fill in an answer for every question, even if it's a random guess, as you will not be penalized if your answer is incorrect.  Whenever possible, though, try to make a more educated guess by eliminating incorrect answer choices.

On the SAT, you will receive a score in each of the three areas tested, Writing, Math, and Critical Reading, ranging from 200-800.  These three scores are then added together to give you an overall score, the highest of which is 2400.  On the ACT, you may earn up to a 36 on each of the four tests: English, Math, Reading, and Science.  These four scores are averaged, so your composite score is out of 36, also.  The Writing score (essay) is reported separately for the ACT, while it is included in the SAT score.

As you may have noted from the information in the previous paragraph, the Science test is unique to the ACT.  The ACT science test has seven passages from the areas of biology, chemistry, physics, and earth/space

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