ACT - SAT conversion/percentiles

<p>I noticed when I got my ACT score report in the mail that a 29 is in the 95% percentile nationwide. But when I checked a ACT-SAT conversion chart on the internet a 29 translates into a 1300. What baffles me is when I check that SAT Percentiles here:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/ra/sat/SATPercentileRanksCompositeCR_M.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/ra/sat/SATPercentileRanksCompositeCR_M.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I see that a 1300 is in the 89% Percentile. Seems like a raw deal, shouldn't the ACT-SAT equivalents be based on matching percentiles? The only thing that would make sense would be if admissions people look at the percentiles instead of the conversion chart, but I hear they just look at the conversion charts (at least in the East Coast). If anyone would clear this up it would be much appreciated.</p>

<p>I have the same problem, but the truth is that more people in certain regions take one test than the other, and each state has different educational standards, so one might be higher than the other. After all, they are different tests. Yes, I am implying that students in the midwest are dumber. j/k!</p>

<p>I had the same problem. I got a similar score on both tests but my percentiles were much higher for the ACT than the SAT. (By about 7 points)</p>

<p>Some colleges calculate their own equivalencies, based on their experience with the applicants who apply to that college. A good table like that will often show a range of scores on the second test for every score level on the first test, because test-takers vary in which test they find more easy.</p>

<p>this is partly because the sat is more common than the act</p>

<p>I noticed a similar issue and started a (very small) thread on SAT ACT concordance. Here is what I said to start:</p>

<p>College Board and Princeton Review both indicate that a 33 ACT is equivalent to about a 1470 SAT (old style).
See <a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_dow...oncordance.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_dow...oncordance.pdf&lt;/a> and <a href="http://www.princetonreview.com/colle...AGE=8&TYPE=SAT%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.princetonreview.com/colle...AGE=8&TYPE=SAT&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>However, when I check the admission stats for particular colleges, a 33 composite ACT is paired with SATs which combine to much higher than 1470. For example, at Columbia, the 75th percentile ACT is 33, but the 760 and 780 SAT scores total 1540; at University of Chicago, the 75th percentile ACT composite is also 33, while the 780 SATs total 1560. See, <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cool/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cool/&lt;/a> .</p>

<p>Are ACTs correlated with, say, higher GPAs or under-represented areas or groups? Can some of this be explained by the comparison of composite to the sum of the SATs? Any thoughts?</p>

<p>In response to comments about the relative rarity of the ACT I later added:
At Columbia, out of 20000 applicants, about 2800 submit ACT and 18800 SAT; at UChi, out of 9000 applicants, about 3300 submit ACT and 7800 SAT. While more submit SAT, there are still many ACT submitters and many submit both. At Univ of Michigan out of 25000 applicants, about 20000 submit ACT and 15000 submit SAT. The discrepancy between ACT and SAT is lowest at UM, where 31 ACT is the 75th percentile while 1420 is the combined SAT 75th percentile. The concordance table says 31 ACT equals about 1380 SAT. Perhaps that small differential can be explained by the composite nature of the ACT the concordance table shows. Still strikes me as odd, though, for the others.</p>

<p>It seems to me many top colleges like ACT better and will give more credit for a good ACT score than for a very good SAT score.</p>

<p>remember that when u combine 2 scores for the SAT, most colleges and most statistics present the subjects independently. thats the best manner in which to do it</p>

<p>I agree and that may explain part of apparent discrepancy. But I don't think it explains all of it.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Can some of this be explained by the comparison of composite to the sum of the SATs?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yes, as other replies have said. It's harder to be an all-arounder than to be a specialist.</p>

<p>Those coversion tables you find on-line all have their genesis in a percentile comparison study the College Board commissioned In 1994. The test scores used were those from 1994 to 1996 for selected areas of the country, mostly in the south, and comparing persons who took both tests. From that study came the College Board's coversion tables, for which at the time the percentile rankings of the compared scores were the same for both tests. You can still find the table on the CBs site but few ever bother to read the footnote that says the table came from data over ten years ago. The CB has not attempted another conversion study since.</p>

<p>With the onset of the internet and CBs publication of its tables came the copycat syndrome. Dozens of other sites now provide conversion tables seemingly created independently, because they do not cite the source, when, in fact, all they are are the CBs tables created over a decade ago. Some creative wizards have even created tables converting the new SAT scores, with a total of 2400, to ACT scores and all they have done is simply used the old tables and projected the table to the new SAT ranges, e.g., where a 1400 SAT previously equaled an SAT, now a 2100 SAT equals the same ACT score.</p>

<p>If you are following me thus far, you should now understand the problem you are having with the conversion tables -- the information you are relying on is outdated and no longer reliable. Those tables are a guide at best and, because of passage of time, a poor guide now.</p>

<p>More incredibly, there are still some colleges that rely on those conversion tables. However, most do not. Most who use conversion tables create their own and use scores and like percentile rankings from more recent test results to do so, with the effect that any given ACT score now compares to a higher SAT score. You generally won't know what actual conversion table a college to which you apply is using (although some do publish theirs) but the one thing you should not do is assume the stuff you are seeing on the internet is it.</p>

<p>The reason that it is like that is because the scores are less for the ACT's which means the average is brought down also. For the SAT there are obviously more poeple who do well which means that the average will be higher.</p>

<p>Drusba, interesting post and everything you say makes sense. It is interesting that, in a 2006 publication, Collegeboard nevertheless maintains that the circa 1996 concordance tables remain valid for comparison:
SAT field trial research has conclusively demonstrated that test
scores on the new critical reading section are comparable to
scores on the previous verbal section, and that scores on
the new math section are comparable to those on the old
math section. Therefore, existing concordance tables can
still be used to compare new SAT and ACT scores. These
tables can be found at <a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/satdata%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.collegeboard.com/satdata&lt;/a>.
<a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/ra/sat-admission-guide.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/ra/sat-admission-guide.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>If colleges really care about this, they produce their own tables from their own studies of applicants, and if they think the College Board tables provide adequate information, they keep using those.</p>

<p>What colleges publish their tables?</p>

<p>


</p>

<p>This is what I was concerned about, thanks for clearing it up</p>

<p>Why do boys score better than girls?</p>

<p>Percentile Score, 1600 Scale
(official, 2006) Score, 2400 Scale
(official, 2006)
99.98 1600 2400
99.65 ≥1550 ≥2300
99 ≥1480 ≥2200
98 ≥1450 ≥2140
97 ≥1420 ≥2100
88 ≥1380 ≥1900
83 ≥1280 ≥1800
78 ≥1200 ≥1770
72 ≥1150 ≥1700
61 ≥1090 ≥1600
48 ≥1010 ≥1500
36 ≥950 ≥1400
15 ≥810 ≥1200
4 ≥670 ≥1010
1 ≥520 ≥790 </p>

<p>--according to wikipedia</p>

<p>The College Board would be the primary source for percentile data on the SAT. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/ra/sat/SATPercentileRanksCompositeCR_M_W.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/ra/sat/SATPercentileRanksCompositeCR_M_W.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I got a 29 ACT(95 percentile), but a 1320 SAT(91 percentile). I would certainly hope that colleges look at my ACT as a 1400(95 percentile), but that's not the case. I'll do better on the ACT in September, but do these conversions come from people who take both tests or estimates?</p>

<p>Yes Im confused as to how these percentiles get matched up. I got a 36 on the ACT but a 2140 on the SAT...</p>

<p>This is a much researched issue. </p>

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