<p>Personally after taking the ACT, I think that the ACT is easier to people that are naturally smarter students that do not need a lot of studying to do well. Many people come to the ACT after 1 practice test and score 33's and 34's just because they are very good at reading and math, and then it's fine to bomb science and still maintain a high score. The SAT takes a lot of practice and in my eyes the ACT is the easier test.</p>
<p>Waitaminute, i thought the science part was ridiculously easy....why does everyone think it was hard? It was all graphs! ???</p>
<p>Some people do well on the ACT, and others do well on the SAT. In the end, both are viable, accurate tests, but they are also very different from each other. The ACT tests the material you have learned in high school and uses tough timing to test students' test taking abilities. On the other hand, the SAT tests easier material in a way as to trick you. </p>
<p>I think the ACT is a better test because it is a cross between an aptitude and an achievement test (psychological terms, not what the tests stand for). If you look closely, then the ACT also follows the format of a college test. I remember my AP chemistry teacher telling me that professors give tests that you cannot possibly finish in the allotted time to mess with your head. He said the material is already hard, and the time makes it even harder. [He was trying to prepare us for the AP by telling us that even if we don't finish, the curve will compensate for that.] If standardized testing is supposed to predict our performance in college, then the ACT should theoretically be able to do that better than the SAT due to the format.</p>
<p>Adding on to the above, I read somewhere that Dartmouth College did a study or at least interpolated data and concluded that the ACT has better predictive validity than the SAT does. Will that change standards: no, but standards should not change because people should have the option to choose and do best on which ever test they like more. </p>
<p>As for comparing sections, the ACT English section asks some easier questions than the SAT writing ones, but the time limit makes it quite difficult to get through 75 questions without losing your head. The ACT math is easier for me, and I usually finish with 20 minutes to spare, but the SAT math is a bit tricky even though I know the material well. The ACT reading asks more straightforward questions, but it is in no way that much easier than the SAT CR, except the time limit is a pain to master. The ACT science can also be a bit nerve-racking at times, but you need to work super-fast on it; in all, I think the science section is the hardest. The ACT essay is graded harder than the SAT essay; I think the SAT essay grading is very arbitrary. </p>
<p>I also agree that people who generally do well in school and take higher level classes do better on the ACT because they have seen a wide range of testing formats and in AP classes, they end up taking tests that follow a college format to some degree. However, anybody can do well or poorly on the SAT; I know people who don't do well in school who have amazing SAT scores. Then there are people like me who work hard in school and do well who can't even manage to get a decent score on the SAT.</p>
<p>You guys now know which side of the fence I'm on.</p>
<p>Tux.
I love you.
YOu made me feel so much better about taking the SAT after I gota 1270 on it. I can't wait to take ACT because I know i'll dominate. <3</p>
<p>I think the ACT is harder because of the long sections where you kind of run out of steam by the end. But, on the SAT, you have to switch gears really quickly to go from math to reading to math again.</p>
<p>ACT is better because 10 sections just sucks, especially when one is experimental and doesn't even get graded. I already hated College Board, and then they decide to make me do more work than the bare minimum, after paying money and supporting their monopoly.</p>
<p>I missed four questions on each exam. But I didn't even try on the ACT because I had already gotten a 2330 on the SAT... so I'd say it's easier.</p>
<p>For the SAT, I think there is a lot more test taking strategy, whereas the ACT is more just answering the questions. I got a 1320 on the SAT and a 34 on the ACT. For someone who doesn't like to study like me, I would take the ACT.</p>
<p>harvard turns down the 800 on maths because its really not that hard to do</p>
<p>The SAT has a ton of little sections and goes on forever. I thought the math was easier but the test was so tedious that I was falling asleep by the end of it. Also the essay topic seemed harder and they give you less time. The ACT has only a couple of long sections. Where I live, only the ACT is mandatory and the school prepares you for it some. My school had us all take a couple practice ACTs (one fall of sophomore year i think? and one fall of junior year) but when I took the SAT I was going at it cold and I didn't even know what topics were on it. So I guess you should take the one you're better prepared for and if you're bad at math, go for the SAT.</p>
<p>There is the obvious margin of more room for perfect. For example, you get a 2350 on the SAT an moan about it... well, that's a PERFECT SCORE on the ACT (assuming you do as well).</p>
<p>One of the elite-university admissions officers who posts on CC said that whenever he has seen applications with both ACT and SAT scores, the ACT scores were always higher. </p>
<p>That could be due to SAT-takers submitting ACT only if higher, or the applicants' control over which ACT scores are reported, but it probably also reflects the ACT being more straightforward.</p>
<p>Personally, I thought the ACT was much harder. Not because of the questions, but because of the time-limit... For example, I only got a 26 on the math because I ran out of time, and had to christmas tree 20 questions... got the first 40 right, but the last 20 wrong... The SAT I didn't feel rushed at all, and I did better on it.</p>
<p>Although, maybe my ACT score also had something to do with only having 2 hours of sleep the night before. (Long story involving airplane delays and Costa Rica -_-)</p>
<p>It seems that most people, however, think the ACT is easier (and do better on it)</p>
<p>I think the SAT is easier- the math section (which is my worst) is easier than the ACT's math section. also, ACT focuses on speed. however, i only took practice SAT tests, PSAT, and ACT so my opinion isn't exactly fair...</p>
<p>My son did a lot better on the SAT than the ACT. The math was harder on the ACT. That, and the science brought his composite score down.</p>