Want to hear some different opinions on both and which you prefer.
Based on my kids’ input/what I’ve heard over the years, the big issue with ACT is speed. D reads very fast and thus had no issues. S has ADHD, received extra time, and thus had no issues. D said science is more about reading comprehension vs technical science knowledge. Both of my kids did significantly better on ACT.
I think this is very student specific. I would suggest taking a practice test of each and seeing which one you do better with. For my D, she had equivalent scores on both but some students have a strong preference of one over the other.
My D did slightly better on the SAT despite prepping for the ACT. She really got nailed with the speed factor on ACT.
It is individual. My S’s guidance counselor said that 1/3 of students do better on the SAT, 1/3 do better on the ACT and 1/3 do the same on both. As mentioned above I suggest you take a practice test for both and see if you do better/prefer one versus the other.
FWIW my two kids did a opted for the SAT as it allows for a bit more time per question - but both had friends who preferred the ACT as well.
D21 is trying both, but did better on the practice ACT than the PSAT. She is a stronger geometry student, so liked the ACT math better. She hates the open ended math on the SAT. Waiting for August SAT scores now, she’s taking the September 14 ACT and then we’ll see which she focuses on if she has to take another one.
Agree that it is student by student- best to take a full sample test in both & then pick. Our lot were very divided as to which suited them. Fwiw, the time thing on the ACT is real, but it not just about how fast you read- our fastest reader preferred the SAT, while our slowest preferred the ACT- in both cases b/c they ‘got’ the test more readily. Agree with @taverngirl - ours found that the science questions were more about reading comprehension or understanding what the question was looking for than much actual science knowledge.
Exactly right on the ACT science - D21 said she didn’t even finish reading the questions because she knew the answer immediately. A friend’s tutor reinforced that - he said if you read the science question right, the answer is abundantly clear quickly.