<p>An SAT tutor is trying to urge my daughter to take the SAT instead of the ACT because he says it's much easier to raise your math score on the SAT - he claims that this is because the SAT has "tricks" to it which involve reasoning skills rather than straight math knowledge while the ACT relies on math knowledge. He claims that she could easily raise her math SAT score 100 points with tutoring, but not a comparable amount on the ACT. </p>
<p>My daughter likes the format of the ACT better and in a trial test, did a touch better on the ACT math. Math is not her strength - she scored over 100 points lower on math than Reading on the SAT and 5 points lower than Reading (and 9 points lower than English) on the ACT.</p>
<p>Does what the tutor is saying have any merit? (He has not met my daughter yet so doesn't know her particular skill set, only that she needs math help and he is a math tutor. He says most kids he tutors take the SAT.)</p>
<p>I cant say much about the SAT, but I do know that of the 3 times I have taken the ACT my math scores went 32,33,32 (and that was after taking another whole semester of AP calc between the 32’s). Therefore I think that the tutor is right and that the ACT is hard to improve math scores. By what it sounds, your daughter is already scoring high on english and reading. Since math is very hard to improve on, I urge you to maybe look into improving the science section. If she has room for a lot improvement on science (like currently scoring maybe 26 or less) it isn’t that hard to bump that score up. The science is a lot about strategy and timing. If she takes a lot of practice science sections I think she would improve. Anyways, all 4 sections of the ACT are equally weighted, so if you want to raise your composite it is easier to do so by raising reading or science because they have the least amount of questions. FYI I raised my science score from 25 the first time to 34 the third time, so I know it can be done.</p>
<p>The first time I did the ACT, I got an 28 math subscore. It was my lowest subscore. So, I studied up and focused on what I got wrong the first time (I remembered the types of questions I were missing). Circle equations, some trigonometry, distance formula, etc. I went in the second time and got a 34 on math, which was my highest subscore that time.</p>
<p>Math is argubly the easiest section to improve on on the ACT because the same types of questions will appear on every test. 23% Pre-Algebra, 17% Elementary Algebra, 15% Intermediate Algebra, 15% Coordinate Geometry, 23% Plane Geometry, 7% Trigonometry. You know what to expect, and after you have taken the test once, you will know your weak points. You can take some tests beforehand, preferably out of the Red book (I did Princeton Review - the math was unnecessarily hard and about half the stuff I did in that book never appeared on the times I took the ACT). </p>
<p>My weak points were in geometry. I worked on my weaknesses and brought it up. Reading and science are harder scores to improve, because they are more about detail-noticing strategies & comprehension - a skill that you develop over many years. I had written down the formulas I needed to know, that I had not known the first time I took it, on a white board in my room. Every day I saw them, and occasionally I did a practice test or some questions. I was much more confident the second time I went in, although to be honest I was not expecting a jump in 6 points on the math test. </p>
<p>I never took the SAT so I can’t really say much about that test.</p>
<p>I think he is correct that the SAT has “tricks” and the ACT requires more math knowledge. I’m not sure that necessarily means it’s easier to raise your Math SAT score, though. Some kids do better on the SAT; others on the ACT. Time is generally more of a factor for the ACT than it is for the SAT, so some students who run out of time on the ACT do better on the SAT. My D has pretty good math skills but not a stellar vocabulary, and she did much better on the ACT. I myself preferred the SAT - I had the vocabulary and did well with their “tricky” questions. We live in an area where the ACT is the more prevalent test, and D’s guidance counselor said that few students at our HS do better on the SAT than the ACT. That surprised me, but he has the data. Does your daughter have to take one instead of the other? Couldn’t she take both and see which one she does better on? </p>
<p>ACT math is more straight forward and requires you to remember things that you may not have not done in years. It is not difficult to raise the math ACT score if you keep taking practice tests and you review concepts that were previously learned. The SAT math is different- there are more " tricks" involved. Once you learn these " tricks" it is quote possible to raise your math score considerably. That being said, some kids do much better on one test than another. </p>
<p>No need for tutor. Math is very easy to improve. Actually, my D. prepared ONLY Math section for her ACT (took one time), she just went over other sections to ger familiar with the format. She spend 1 hr every day for 5 days just before the test taking practice tests. She was doing math section and going over her mistakes. Sometime she was timing herself when doing the practice math section. Math has been easy subject, but she never care much about it. Her goal was to compensated the predictably low Reading score. Mission was accomplished. Yes, her Reading was absolutely lowest - 28, but she pulled up math with the total result of 33. That was enough for the selective p[rograms that she was applying and for many offers of Merit awards at publics and private colleges.
BTW, memorization approach to math concepts is incorrect. The same goes for some hard sciences (r the college level). You got to understand and be able to derive. Yes, few simple facts needs to be memorized but if you do enough math problems, it is non-issue.
Overall D’s ACT score was higher that SAT score (with conversion). The reason is Science section in ACT. This section is very very easy, it has no science, it is just slow reading. D’s comprehension rate is verry high, it is reading speed that pulls her Reading secion down. So, science is definite bonus in ACT test for those who do not read very fast.</p>
<p>Does this SAT tutor also tutor for the ACT? It sounds like a ploy to get a job s/he prefers (SAT tutoring).</p>
<p>The nice thing about the ACT is that you do know what will be on the test. Raising the math section shouldn’t be difficult with practice tests and focused reviewing of weak areas. </p>
<p>But as everyone says, it depends on your child. Some students do extremely well on the SAT while others favor the ACT. I’d go by what your daughter says over the tutor. D did much better on the ACT than the SAT. </p>
<p>Check the SAT and ACT sections of College Confidential. </p>
<p>Fwiw, tricks can mean different things to different people. Tricks might mean proper techniques to some. To others, it means that the SAT is tricky and the terms are used pejoratively. The latter is often used by people with a very poor understanding of the test. </p>
<p>Easier or more straightforward is entirely in the eye of the beholder as the greatest variable is NOT content. </p>
<p>The ACT requires more speed so it may be easier to make mistakes. My understanding is that ACT has less tricks but has more problems in less time. Only one of my kids took the ACT and did much worse on the math there than he did on the SAT math. Not clear why. </p>
<p>Slackermom has a good point. If the tutor also tutors ACT, I would be more inclined to believe what he/she is saying about ACT. But this could also just be tutor’s experience with a limited universe of students.</p>
<p>Base on my 2 kids, I think the SAT was easier, they had no outside tutor but mom here to make sure they do the SAT practices following Xiggi’s method. One did raise her math score from 650ish to 800. One did raise her writing score from 600ish to 800. So it can be done. We got the real SAT tests from multiple sources, the cost was less than $100. </p>
<p>@DrGoogle Wow! Those are huge increases! How long did it take and at what rate were your daughters preparing? I’m a rising junior and am freaking out about all these standardized tests and if I even have enough time to prepare… Did your daughters follow xiggi’s method exactly, or were there additional resources I have yet to discover? Thanks!</p>
<p>Two things. There is plenty of time to prepare and your timing is ideal. The summer before the Junior year is the best time to prepare for the test with a focus on both the PSAT and the SAT tests in October (or November,) The additional resources to be discovered are not some secrets still unveiled, but merely what YOU will develop on your own as you progress in your preparation. Again, tricks (as some like to call) are simply becoming aware of the presentation and the differences between the rote memorization and fill the blanks required in high school and having to … think and reason. </p>
<p>All in all, you should have seen most of the contents by the end of 10th grade, and the “holes” will be quite small and easy to fill. Going through official tests (the TCB released tests or the Blue Book) is plain common sense. I also highly recommend to participate in discussions forums and ask questions first, and if you can, start answering questions. It is amazing how much one learns from trying to help others. </p>
<p>PS Everything that is true for the SAT is also true for the ACT. Inasmuch as there are fewer tests available for practicing, the same concerpts apply, namely to review your answers section by section, and make sure to check both the correct and the wrong ones. You need to check the correct ones to make sure you KNEW how to solve and did not get lucky by guessing. This is often overlooked. The quantity of work is not as relevant as the quality of the preparation. Most people will NOT have to take full time tests repeatedly or slave for months on the preparation. </p>
<p>“Some students do extremely well on the SAT while others favor the ACT”
-This is somewhat predictable. Slower reader who tend to have her lowest score for Reading section vs much higher scores in everything else will do better in ACT. it is not really easier or harder, but rather what section is your best / weakest. And keep in mind, there is no sense to even try to improve the Reading score, simply not possible. We were delusional at some point, sending our young D. to some speed reading classes (several times), it is useless. So, it is correct to focus on something that could be improved - math is definitely one, especially in case of math acceleration. The advnaced kids took ACT / SAT math way back in middle school, surely, they simply need to re-fresh it. There is no calc in the ACT / SAT. The math is really very elementary, but somewaht forgotten. Doing problems will sufficiently re-fresh it.</p>
<p>Poppycock and balderdash! There are students who increase their reading scores easily and find it hard to increase the math score. Increasing the writing score is more neutral. </p>
<p>Increasing a reading score is harder because it is the part that requires more concentration and more … reasoning ability, aka the Achille’s heal and bane of your average HS student as reasoning is rarely taught well or rewarded at your typical school. </p>
<p>Just as it is true for math, the key to increase a score is to understand the test itself, and KNOW what the test is measuring. In each case, the correct approach and techniques DO work. One reason students fail to improve on the reading part is that they follow the poor advice of learning more vocabulary, guessing on a willy-nilly basis, and mostly overthinking the questions or relying on undue inferences. Gimmicks such as speed reading are really trivial. </p>
<p>While it is easier to undo years of poor teaching in math, it is harder to replace decades of poor attention to reading, and especially reading critically. But it CAN be learned! </p>
<p>Pretending that increasing a reading score is not possible is simply NOT true. It might be true for a N of 1, but you cannot generalize based on the sole experience of your kid. </p>
<p>Thanks for the input. I did get the sense that this tutor was more comfortable with the SAT - but also, he wasn’t pressuring us to start tutoring - which isn’t super affordable at the moment anyway. </p>
<p>I guess I’m <em>still</em> left with the question of which she should start to prepare (on her own). I have both the official ACT and SAT books thanks to friends - although I heard that the math “instruction” section of the official books may not be as good as ones in other books. (Any advice on which book has the best/clearest math instruction section?) It’s true that she is accelerated in math (took geometry in 8th grade) so it may be that much is forgotten rather than that she does not have the capability - but I just want her to pick one test and prep for that one, even if she ends up taking both. She said she liked the format of the ACT better - but on that one she <em>also</em> has science to work on.</p>
<p>So…what do you think? Should she focus on ACT for the summer despite what that tutor said?</p>
<p>The D’s way of reading is making her a great student and results in poor Reading scores. Since it helps her to absorb material, I keep telling her not to change it. Thank goodness, there is no more Reading sections in any of the tests that she is taking now and her scores on extremely hard Medical Board exams are higher than her other standardized scores. Why - again, goes back to her Reading style of making logical connections while reading, good for school material, but will slow down your reading speed.</p>
<p>Without getting into unneeded details, the value of the official books is none other than the tests. The instructions are ranging from subpar to decent. What you have is the necessary access to real or close to real tests. Instructions --or tips, strategies, techniques-- are found in the various sources books you find everywhere and are published by the usual suspects, namely Princeton Review, Kaplan, Barrons, et al. Here, you just do the opposite: you throw ALL the tests in such books in the garbage but use the information as a source to help the self-practice. </p>
<p>Are some better than others? In my opinion, yes, as some and especially the ones that rely of “bragging” are pretty bad. If I had to use one and none other, I would simply purchase the so-called Black Book (by M. Barrett) as it covers the Math well and is easily the best for Reading. Most books are decent for Writing. You will find some discussions about the books in the SAT section on CC. In general, the books will appeal to different students. A couple of other recommendations are from regular contributors to the SAT forum. Among others, check PcKeller, DrSteve, and Pwnthesat (no longer here) and as their books are vastly superior to Barrons, McGrawHill, and especially Dr, Chung’s, which I consider useless and irrelevant. </p>
<p>In addition, you might check the “solutions to the blue book” type of books. They are mostly effective for the Math section. For this part, I would highly recommend to check the videos by SatQuantum, which are wonderful to help students understand the SAT Math sections. And they are mostly free. </p>
<p>All in all, all those resources would match your average or better than average tutor, and be MUCH better than the group courses that range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. This does NOT mean tutors are never needed. Individual sessions by competent tutors can make the difference in unlocking the mind of a student who is not willing to work indepedently. True professionals have the benefit of their experience. </p>
<p>I do not think there have been anything great written about the ACT, Considering the work of ACT “gurus” who switched to the SAT, I am afraid that you won’t find much greatness in anything covering the ACT, including a much lower availability of official tests. </p>
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