<p>Maybe cooljazz works for CollegeBoard. :)</p>
<p>Being a good math student is completely irrelevant to scoring well on the SAT math section, because it doesn’t even COVER anything past basic geometry. It’s much more important to be able to process every question without missing a single detail, and do so really really fast. </p>
<p>Now, that’s a wonderful way of testing your ability to do Algebra 1 level problems, because there the majority of the work IS, in fact, analyzing the question to determine what you are supposed to do. But try walking into even a basic calculus class with only the ability to quickly analyze a question, and you will be owned so hard I almost won’t find it funny.</p>
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<p>Or perhaps he worked for the ACT and got fired? ;-)</p>
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<p>The SAT I isn’t supposed to test how good you are at math; it’s supposed to test how good you are at reasoning. There’s a reason we have the SAT II.</p>
<p>The kid who is great at analyzing questions but who hasn’t studied anything past Algebra I will indeed fail calculus miserably, but he has much more potential to learn calculus eventually than the kid isn’t good at analyzing questions. The SAT measures potential, not achievement.</p>
<p>it is because everyone is different in the ways they learn. Some people may be better at certain things while others may not. So by making them equal, it will be fair for more people. That way people won’t be left at a disadvantage. Sorry if I repeated anyone, I didn’t read every single message and this is just my own opinion.</p>
<p>Most colleges don’t superscore the ACT because it is less respected.</p>
<p>Think about it. The ACT only has one more section than the SAT yet virtually no good schools superscore it, barring MIT, but that is pretty much it.</p>
<p>If anybody else has a reason to why the ACT is not superscored please enlighten me.</p>
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<p>I’ve read some study that says that scores can vary up to 1 to 2 points on sections and if that is true, then people could easily just take the test several times and boost on specific sections. I think sometimes, different sections balance out the composite, where one test might have an easier english test or a math test, while another has an easier science or reading, etc.</p>
<p>The ACT’s content varies between tests. I remember back when I took the ACT in 8th, the english section was stacked with OMIT questions (really easy btw), and another time I took it, it focused on using the best phrase.</p>
<p>The science varies the most i’d say. Never seen anything really similar. The graphs change frequently.</p>
<p>I’m gonna throw my two cents in here! I’m originally from NY, but moved out to the midwest a few years ago. My family was used to the SAT and based on the east coast mindset, kinda thought the ACT would be easier, but that is wrong. I took both tests in the spring and according to the conversion tables, my ACT composite and SAT CR+M scores are the same, but I did much better on the SAT writing. I found the ACT writing prompt much more difficult.</p>
<p>I personally prefer the SAT because the time limits on the ACT drove me crazy and I prefer reasoning type questions, but I definitely don’t think the SAT is superior. As far as I’m concerned, they both suck equally. But based on my experience, I think those conversion tables are pretty damn accurate and give colleges a good idea of how someone who just submits an ACT score would perform on the SAT, if they are hung-up on the SAT.</p>
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<p>This is the most important point made after eight pages of posts. :D</p>
<p>^^i second that!!!</p>
<p>As I understand, the SAT takes off points for wrong answers while the ACT does not - only correct answers. So if you guess at a lot (even at 50:50), your score will always be higher on the ACT.</p>
<p>^</p>
<p>Dubious logic. The ACT has a much tougher curve in comparison to the SAT because it has to account for answers randomly guessed correctly.</p>
<p>For all of you who complain about the difficulty of the science section, the ridiculous curve is to blame.</p>
<p>Your scenario is only plausible for people guessing for literally every question.</p>
<p>My older brother got a 1680/2400 SAT and a 28 ACT. Rather surprised, I always thought the two tests were equal, so maybe he just got lucky.</p>
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<p>Exactly, miss one (or leave blank) on some subsectoins of the ACT and the score may be a 34, depending on the scaling. In other words, a subscore of 36 may requires 100% correct answers on that section.</p>
<p>Gbesq:</p>
<p>Before I simply pointed out the fact that you were ignoring the writing portion of the SAT, not that it was not present in concordance tables. You were using the numbers from the 1600 scale.</p>
<p>Again, I have no idea what obvious idea you need to be supported. That there is a geographic split between the ACT and the SAT? That some states are overrepresented in elite schools compared to others? </p>
<p>Before you asked me to “provide evidence” because I said that the ACT had no guessing penalty and most questions had four choices instead of five. Similarly, what I am saying now is fairly easy to find yourself. You still have not responded to the key differences between the ACT and the SAT. In the ACT:</p>
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<li>The questions do not require critical reasoning, and are very straightforward.</li>
<li>The essay component does not factor into the number score.</li>
<li>Most sections only have four choices per question, not five.</li>
<li>There is NO guessing penalty. </li>
<li>The ACT is shorter than the SAT, and takes less endurance. </li>
<li>The ACT is favored by states in the Midwest that are generally less competetive than states on the coasts. Some states have even made the ACT mandatory. This skews the percentiles, and makes a 99% on the ACT less significant than a 99% on the SAT.
7, The Science section is primarily data analysis, and is not an accurate test of any concrete material.</li>
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<p>Why would elite colleges value these two tests exactly equally? Sorry, but they don’t.</p>
<p>Saying things like I “worked for the ACT and got fired” is not strengthening your argument. It makes you come across as betlittling and close-minded. You are not the sole authority on this subject just because your daughter is attending Kansas State University, which according to you is “certainly on par, and then some, with undergraduate admission to the elite institutions.”</p>
<p>Maybe you should consider the possiblilty that two completely different tests are not treated completely equally by elite schools. </p>
<p>To all students who are torn between the two tests and aiming for top schools, I’d highly recommend the SAT. It continues to be more valued, although more challenging, than the ACT. Although both tests are accepted by colleges, all adcoms know the glaring differences between the exams and value them accordingly.</p>
<p>Okay, okay, okay. Quick question regarding something said earlier.</p>
<p>Is Cracking the ACT significantly easier than the real thing? Like the OP, I got to book from the library just to see how I might do and I got a 30.</p>
<p>A 30 is a little better than a 1910, no?</p>
<p>cooljazz,</p>
<p>Thanks for your posts. I don’t agree with them, I don’t believe that they are factually accurate, and I believe that you are doing a great disservice to the other readers of this thread – particularly those who are applying to colleges and universities – by continuing to post on a topic on which I believe you to be clearly uninformed. If Yale University (you’ve heard of them, yes?) states on its admissions website that it accepts the ACT IN LIEU OF THE SAT I AND THE SAT II SUBJECT TESTS, I would think that this might indicate to you that the best colleges and universities in the United States think that the ACT is every bit as good a test for evaluating college applicants as the SAT. I simply don’t know what else to tell you, except to say that I feel like I’m debating with a member of the Flat Earth Society. All of that being said, you are entitled to your opinion and I wish you success at the college or university of your choice.</p>
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<p>1980-2010 approximately.</p>
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<p>lol i have a 29/2290</p>
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<p>LOL. The only states that perennially rank in the top 10 in both statewide average SAT scores and statewide average ACT scores are Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa—all in the Midwest. Goodness, this parochial coastal snobbery would be laughable if it weren’t so ignorant and mean-spirited.</p>