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Frequently Asked Questions about the ACT
Do colleges in California and the East Coast accept the ACT?
Should I take the SAT or ACT?
What is tested on the ACT and how does it compare to the SAT?
How is the ACT scored? How do these scores compare to SAT scores?
Can I take the ACT more than once? Can I use my best scores?
When should I guess on the ACT?
How do I register for the ACT? How can I find out more about the test?
Do colleges in California and the East Coast accept the ACT?
Yes, all colleges that take the SAT will also accept the ACT. You should always check with the
admissions office of a college to see if it has a stated preference, however. You also need to find out whether or not the
college requires the optional ACT Essay component. Compass strongly recommends that students complete the ACT Essay, as
most competitive schools require it.
Should I take the SAT or ACT?
All colleges accept either the SAT or the ACT for admissions. Although the SAT is more popular in
California, over 1 million students take the ACT each year. Some schools will state a preference and you
should always check with the admissions office for specific requirements. In the past, the SAT was
considered more of an aptitude test and the ACT was considered more of an achievement tests. Changes to
the SAT in recent years, particularly the revision of the SAT in March 2005, have narrowed this gap
considerably. Both tests cover math, grammar, and reading comprehension, although with a different
emphasis in each case. Theoretically, the essay portion of the ACT is optional, but many colleges
are requiring the ACT essay, so plan accordingly.
The only sure way to see on which exam you will perform better is to take both tests and compare your scores.
Compass allows you to do this by making free practice tests available for both the SAT and ACT. We can also
explain how colleges compare the scores using a concordance table. Of course you can also take the real ACT
and decide whether or not you want to submit your scores to colleges. ACT also has score choice, so you can
decide which scores to release to colleges.
What is tested on the ACT and how does it compare to the SAT?
The ACT actually consists of four tests with an optional essay test. The English test is similar to the SAT
Writing section except that it has additional emphasis on punctuation and uses a different question format.
The Math test covers math through trigonometry and is more similar to the Math Level I Subject Test than it
is to the more reasoning oriented SAT. The Reading test covers similar skills to the SAT's Critical Reading
section, but there are no vocabulary oriented Sentence Completions. The Science test has no analogue on the
SAT. It does not measure scientific facts and knowledge like the Subject Tests, but instead measures
interpretation, analysis, evaluation, reasoning, and problem-solving skills in the context of scientific
passages and experiments. The optional Writing section is similar to the essay on the New SAT except that
it will come at the end of the exam rather than at the beginning and it is 30 minutes instead of 25 minutes.
How is the ACT scored? How do these scores compare to SAT scores?
You will receive a scaled score of 1-36 on each of the 4 ACT tests (you will receive a raw score of 2-12 on your
essay that represents the sum of the 1-6 scores from two graders). Your composite score on the ACT is the
average of your 4 scores rounded to the nearest integer, so it is also a 1-36 score. Because the SAT and
the ACT are completely different tests developed by different companies, their scores cannot be compared
directly. Instead, the scores can be compared by analyzing the performance of students who have taken both
exams at around the same time. The percentile rankings of these students are then used to create what is
called a concordance table. Because data on students who have taken both the ACT and the New SAT is still
being analyzed, the only existing concordance tables compare ACT scores with old SAT scores. For example, a
composite score of 25 on the ACT is concordant with a combined Math and Verbal score of 1140 on the SAT. Since
the old Math and Verbal SAT scores are equated to the new Math and Critical Reading scores, students and colleges
are able to use the old concordance tables to compare ACT scores to New SAT scores -- with the notable exception
that there is no agreed upon method for factoring in the Writing score. Updated concordance tables
comparing the ACT to the full New SAT will not be available until 2008.
Can I take the ACT more than once? Can I use my best scores?
Yes, you can repeat the ACT and unlike the SAT, you can choose which scores are released to colleges.
Remember that this places an additional burden on you to keep track of which colleges have received
which scores. The ACT is never given on the same Saturday as the SAT, so you can take both exams without
scheduling conflicts.
When should I guess on the ACT?
Before ever leaving a question blank on the ACT, you should always fill in a guess. If time is about to
run out, you should quickly fill in an answer for any remaining questions. The ACT is scored on how many
correct answers you achieve. There is no penalty for wrong answers as there is on the SAT. Leaving a
question blank on the ACT is throwing away points needlessly.
How do I register for the ACT? How can I find out more about the test?
Visit the ACT website at http://www.actstudent.org
to register for the test, read about the exam, and download or purchase practice tests. Compass also
makes available a free practice ACT to all students interested in exploring this option.
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