I have been reading this blog for a while and value some of the advice that I have seen. I am a junior and I took the SAT in December and March and got the exact same score (700 EBRW and 770 Math) on both tests. I put in about 10 hours of reading prep between the two (I had not prepared for the first test). I actually thought the reading was harding in March and when I got back the score report, I had to reading answers that it said I omitted or multiple marked, so missed them, which I am guessing was sloppiness or poor erasing because I am quite certain I did answer them?? Anyway, same score.
I took the ACT in February (no preparation) and got a 32 with the following breakdown:
M 33
S 32
E 35
R 27
I had an issue with the time on the ACT and definitely had to rush through several reading questions.
My goal is to get a 34 on the ACT or a 1500 on the SAT and I probably can only take one more test. I would really appreciate it if anyone has thoughts on what would be the best test to focus on and if you have any specific test prep advice. Thanks!
@sable999 From what I heard from friends, raising your SAT score would be easier as it would only be 30 points in comparison to your ACT, which could require the equivalent of 50+ points on the SAT of improvement. I would recommend using Erica Metzler’s Critical reading book if you have not done so already as well as UWorld. Furthermore, if you still need more help, you can look up the answers to the official CollegeBoard tests on ■■■■■■■. I used this website to improve from a 1350 to a 1570 in a month. Hope this helps! PM me if you want more advice. I’ll do my best to help 
For ACT reading, many of the questions use key words that are directly lifted from the text. You can look at the questions first to see if some have obvious key words. For example, a passage about how birds fly might have a question specifying something about how fast the wings beat per minute. It’s likely that somewhere in the passage will specifically mention that. Your answer will be there. Another important strategy is to keep the big picture in mind, or the topic of the paragraph. Don’t be mislead into choosing answers that don’t reflect what you just read.
ACT reading is a lot more direct and the questions are easier (at least to me personally) - the issue is timing. SAT reading is harder, with harder questions and confusing wording, but there’s more time. It all really depends on what you think would be easier for you to improve on, either content or timing. Erica Meltzer’s books are supposed to be really good; I’ve never actually used them but I’ve used her website and it’s great too.
Also, keep in mind that your SAT score might have been a lot higher without all of the bubbling/erasing mistakes, so if you think you would’ve achieved your goal without those mistakes, it might be worth a try (or even score verification). Good luck, practice tests are your friend! (:
Working with a private tutor who drilled down into trouble areas made a huge difference here in not much time.