ACT and SAT

Test Preparation
1

<p>I know this has probably already been brought up, but it bothers me how so many people do better on the ACT than they do on the SAT, at least where I live (Long Island, NY), myself included. It strikes me that the SAT/ACT conversion tables are based on percentiles, but possibly the percentiles are not comparable.</p>

<p>If you take a look at this map:
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5b/SAT-ACT_Preference_Map.svg%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5b/SAT-ACT_Preference_Map.svg&lt;/a>
, you'll see that the SAT is dominant in coastal states and the ACT in the Midwest. It just so happens that there tends to be a higher quality of education in the SAT-preferring states.</p>

<p>Perhaps the 80% of primarily Midwesterners you outscored with a 25 ACT math score did not receive the same quality of education as the 80% of mostly coastal students you outscored with a 620 SAT math score.</p>

<p>So are ACT and SAT scores really useful as a relative aptitude index if the tester is being compared to different students depending on which they take?</p>

<p>I don't mean to make blanket statements, but I'm just wondering what you guys think of my hypothesis.</p>

2

<p>The OP is stating that the level of education on the coasts (where the SAT is more prevalent) is better than the level of education in the Midwest (where the ACT is more prevalent.) The OP goes on to state that kids do better on the ACT than they do on the SAT. The implication is that the kids on the coasts are smarter than the kids in the Midwest.</p>

<p>Let’s look at the facts. The above reported map accurately depicts the breakdown between SAT states and ACT states. In looking at the state by state breakdown of SAT results, an interesting pattern emerges.</p>

<p>College-Bound</a> Seniors 2007</p>

<p>The top 6 states for average SAT (CR + M) are:
Iowa 1240
Illinois 1220
Minnesota 1210
South Dakota 1200
Missouri 1200
Wisconsin 1200</p>

<p>These are all ACT states. In fact, the average SAT score for all the ACT states is 1130, while the average SAT score for all the SAT states is 995. This means the average performance for the ACT states is better on the SAT than the average performance for the SAT states. In percentile terms, the ACT states perform at the 70th percentile, while the SAT states perform at the 46th percentile.</p>

<p>Now, let’s look at the ACT results. The top 6 states on the ACT composite are:</p>

<pre><code>Massachusetts 24
Vermont 23
NH 23
Washington 23
Connecticut 23
New York 23
</code></pre>

<p>ACT</a> National and State Scores for 2007: Average ACT Scores by State</p>

<p>These are all SAT states. The average ACT composite for all the SAT states is 21.1, while the average ACT composite for all the ACT states is 20.6. Here too, the SAT states outperform the ACT states on the ACT. In percentile terms, the SAT states perform at the 56th percentile on the ACT, while the ACT states perform at the 50th percentile.</p>

<p>In both cases, students perform better on the test which is not predominant in their state than the students where the test is predominant. </p>

<p>There is a reason for this. In a state where one test prevails, only the top students tend to take the other test. These students may be looking to attend a selective college in another region and may be interested in improving their chances by trying the other standardized tests. Weaker students probably are more comfortable staying at local schools which are not as selective and where their test scores are not as important. Since a self selected group of top students takes the less common test, their results are better than a complete sample where all students take the test.</p>

<p>The top students from the ACT states tend to perform better on the SAT (in the 70th percentile) than the top students from the SAT states perform on the ACT (in the 56th percentile.) </p>

<p>The OP’s statements are not supported by the data. One test is not easier than the other. “Some students will do better on one test than the other, depending on which test measures more the skills a student has.” (Developing a Concordance Between the ACT Assessment and the SAT I: Reasoning Test for the University of Texas at Austin , Lavergne/Walker)</p>

3

<p>Thank you for your response, ACT4. In light of this data, I'd say I was misguided. I would, however, be interested in data showing how an individual test taker tends to do on one compared to the other (i.e., the data pertaining to the overlap between the two tests) rather than a look at the collective including those who took only one.</p>

<p>I still concede my argument respectfully, but I think the other data (if it's out there) would be potentially intriguing. I'll try to find it (hopefully, it's out there somewhere).</p>

4

<p>Yep, this is a Frequently Asked Question. </p>

<p>SAT</a> ACT concordance - Google Search</p>

5

<p>
[quote]
I would, however, be interested in data showing how an individual test taker tends to do on one compared to the other (i.e., the data pertaining to the overlap between the two tests) rather than a look at the collective including those who took only one.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I know that I personally am not wired for the SAT because I'm a better student than a test-taker (I work very hard and can understand more advanced topics if they're taught to me.) Personally, I like the straight-forwardness of the ACT to the kind of complicated questions of the SAT. I am also not that great at vocabulary and I see fault with the SAT for emphasizing this. Plus, I thought that the ACT English section was fun. </p>

<p>I did horribly on the PSAT's. 57CR, 68M, 58W. Well, that may not be horrible, but I didn't think it reflected the work I put into school, so I took the ACT instead. I rocked the ACT and got 33C (34E, 34M, 32R, 31S, 9W.) </p>

<p>Biggggggg difference between 1830 on the SAT for all three sections and a 33C.</p>

6

<p>One thing that is difficult to control for is the selectivity of the test takers. The test takers in the midwest who take the SATs tend to be looking further afield and, you could argue, are among the better students. This is also shown in the number of test takers. For instance, Iowa had 1300 SAT takers and 23,000 ACT takers. The same could be said of the students in the east taking the ACT.</p>

7

<p>^nice point</p>

8

<p>There seem to be many cases of people with relatively low SAT scores and 'high' ACT scores, but rarely the reverse. </p>

<p>The SAT is more ability-based whereas the ACT is more content-based. The IQ of the student population is a symmetrical normal curve, whereas the 'knowledge content' of the student population is most certainly skewed left.</p>

9

<p>I don't think it the SAT (M+V) can be compared to the science of the ACT...and the english sections are comparable, that's it.</p>

<p>I have been troubled with people saying the SAT shows intelligence, where as my IQ is in the upper gifted (130-144) range where as my psat was abyssmal. And yes, it was a real IQ test...not one of those hour ones online. Thought I've taken several online ones and my scores are consistently in that range...</p>

10

<p>I'll ask everyone to review the information found in the links on Google. </p>

<p>SAT</a> ACT concordance - Google Search </p>

<p>This is an empirical question, and colleges develop different policies on this issue because they have different pools of applicants.</p>

11

<p>The data found on tokenadult's search is over ten years old...on one of my thread's someone gave me a link to the ACT webiste that says they are evaluating the concordance again. The results will be available over the summer.</p>