<p>You can’t look at a test like the SAT or ACT and expect it to correlate well to things such as problem solving skills, or IQ. Now, the SAT math is one section that i personally believe does a fairly good job about this. You think SAT math is coachable? Sure, maybe 75% of it. But 75% isn’t going to get you an 800. There are some questions on SAT math which trip up the average and even above average high schooler. They require you to truly think, not just apply a formula or solve an extremely simple equation. </p>
<p>But anyway, that’s my opinion. If it means anything, i got a 2300 on the SAT this spring and i got a 34 on an ACT in freshman year.</p>
<p>the SAT math is designed to trick you though, and it’s very easy to make careless mistakes. despite knowing how to do every single problem on the SAT math, i only made a 710. someone who’s very good at math can actually do pretty poorly on the SAT just by not paying enough attention to the nuances of some problems or making stupid mistakes</p>
<p>and yeah the ACT math is pretty easy, when i first took the ACT last year i made a 35, and i did not even take trig and didn’t understand the concepts behind a lot of the problems. ive noticed that you can just plug in numbers in most of the ACT math problems, and score pretty high without even knowing the material. also, the problems don’t really require any ingenuity like those on the SAT, overall its pretty straightforward and easy.</p>
<p>For all those in statistics: The SAT has a mean of about 1509 and a standard deviation of 250. A 2400 has a z-score of 3.564 (z measures how many standard deviations a score falls from the mean).
The ACT has a mean of about 20.8 an a standard deviation of 4.8. A 36 has a standard deviation of 3.377.
The SAT is slightly more difficult. Twice as many people get 36’s than people get 800’s.
Surpisingly a 2300 has a z-score of 3.164; a 34 on the ACT has a z-score of 2.75 and a 35 is 2.95. the ACT scores in whole numbers so a 2300 can’t be converted into an ACT score (it would be about a 35.85).
These numbers show that statistically, more people are scoring high on the ACT than there are scoring high on the SAT.
Personally, I believe that the ACT tells you what math to do. The ACT tests can you do math; the SAT tests are you good at math. The SAT takes an overall knowledge of math like te how and why behind math operations. The ACT will simply tell you what math operation you are doing. I love the SAT and think its a much better test. Do what you’re better at though. Colleges have to accept them both.</p>
<p>The average ACT score has increased in the recent years. So the comparison may vary depending on when the study was done. In addition, neither test is on a linear scale. So it is really hard to compare. After all, for students aiming for 2300+ or 35+, the key factor may be how many careless mistakes they made than their actual knowledge. With an ACT score of 35 matching to an average SAT of 2340. That should match approximately the percentile of students taking the tests, but it does not mean some one getting 35 in ACT will get 2340 in SAT or vice versa. It happens to be the case during my daughter’s practices though. After all, a more accurate way of conversion should be done in section scores level instead of composite or total scores.</p>
<p>My PSAT score was far below average (137,) but then I took the SAT and ACT the following year and got an 1890 SAT and a 28 ACT (both well above average.)</p>
<p>I’m now dismissing the SAT (wasn’t very fun!) and focusing on moving up my three weakest ACT scores (24 Reading needs to be 28+, 26 science needs to be 29+, and 27 math needs to be 32+.) I got a 33 English and 11 essay the first time so if I improve as much as a want, I’ll have a 31 composite. Little bit better than a 137 PSAT, eh? ;)</p>
<p>I am 7th grader taking the ACT test soon. Does anyone have any suggestions/tips for me? This is my first time and I’m trying to get into the duke tip program. Thanks :)</p>
<p>The higher ACT scores can also be attributed to the fact that a lot of people score slightly below a number (for example 32.5) but get rounded up to the next whole number. In my opinion the ACT is more directly related to classroom learning, but it gets a little bit twisted by time constraints and pressure. The SAT’s content overlaps a lot with the ACT, but there’s a lot more reasoning involved-especially in the reading. Plus the SAT reading has vocab which can either be a giant boost or have deleterious effects on your score. Also I think the SAT essay is a lot harder; there’s less time and it’s harder to BS in my opinion.</p>
<p>But I’d say if you can read fast, the ACT is far easier. I got a 34 (35 superscored) on the ACT and only a 2000 on my first SAT.</p>
<p>Oh and the science is really just graph analysis and data interpretation. Even if you struggle in science, you might do well (or conversely, you might be excellent at classroom science and bomb the test).</p>
<p>Its been a few years but I took the SAT and got around a 2000 range while I got a 33 composite on the ACT… keep in mind this is with a 36 science/35 reading/ 34 math… unfortunately my writing skills are that of 10 year old child. I personally found the ACT science to be very easy if you enjoy reading scientific studies etc where you have to extrapolate the results. There was not a lot of “pure” knowledge you had to know it was more reading comprehension.
I don’t think the SAT was harder necessarily but I tend to have very poor patience and work fast when taking an exam. This leads me to favor the more straight forward and time sensitive ACT versus the SAT which I rushed through and finished every section in 10 mins :P. If your a very methodical test taker and don’t mind reading each question twice you probably will do well at the SAT because you won’t get tripped up on the questions.<br>
One advantage to the ACT for me is I am a very poor writer grammatically and I tend to be very superficial when answering open/broad sat/act questions. The ACT composite can dilute your scores easier then the ACT. A 33 isn’t mind blowing but it looks relatively strong and the individual can read into my more specific scores to get a more accurate result. The SAT writing section stands out more not just because its 1/3 versus 1/4 but also because you don’t have a strong science section to give whoever is looking at your application that belief your a strong math/science guy.
I may have gone on a few tangents but that’s my 2 cents. I also managed to get a full ride to a middle of the road school for academics by only sending my ACT so I don’t think they look at it poorly.</p>
<p>I think it really all comes down to preference. Some people are more speed oriented than others and thus seem to have an easier time with the ACT. I myself am not even going to bother taking the SAT as over many practice tests I could barely break 2000, whereas I have gotten a 34 on the ACT. To me, the SAT seemed more study that anything else and I don’t think it’s exactly correct to call it an aptitude test when vocabulary is almost all study based. Maybe some people will know the words that come up during the test, but nonetheless, some of these words you will probably never use in your life, whether it be in conversation or in an essay. </p>