<p>Which is harder: the ACT reading section or the SAT reading section? And why?</p>
<p>As I was taking the ACT, I found almost all of it easier, but ended up with almost exactly the same scores. However, I also see lots of people saying they got lower scores on the ACT. I think one thing that causes people to struggle on the ACT reading is running out of time, which tends to happen more often with the long sections on the ACT. I think the content was very similar, though, with a few formatting differences.</p>
<p>The main difference between the SAT CR and the ACT reading is that the ACT reading emphasizes processing speed more heavily. In order to get a 36 on it you have to be both a fast and an astute reader. The SAT CR focuses more on analytical ability and it provides more of a time cushion to the test-taker to think through problems more thoroughly.
SAT emphasizes vocabulary more too.
If you are not keen on big words and you read fast
I would suggest the ACT.
I scored higher on the SAT CR in the 99th percentile
whereas on the ACT reading I only scored in the 97th percentile because I was not a fast enough reader to finish the last section satisfactorily.
I will say this
for every question I had sufficient time to answer I got every question right
which could mean, if you are similar to me, that the ACT reading might be slightly easier</p>