Well, for me, junior year is almost done, and with the closing out of junior year means the closing out of standardized college entrance exams. This year has been filled with quite a number of tests of various things, from PSAT to SAT to ACT to Subject Tests to AP exams to all of these other things. However, one of the more contentious debates between tests of this class is between the SAT and the ACT. Both are general-subject standardized college entrance exams, and are often said to “compete” between each other to be the test of choice. Well, now that I’ve prepared for, taken, and gotten scores for each of these exams, I thought that I’d take the opportunity to review them and offer my opinion on the one that I like better. (I do promise that although my scores differ a bit between the two exams, I am not considering how I scored on each exam in this review.)

First, A Little History
(And thanks to Wikipedia for filling me in on some of this.)
The SAT is the granddaddy of this department. Originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test (later Scholastic Assessment Test), its now-official name is the SAT Reasoning Test, with SAT not standing for anything. It is developed by the College Board and administrated by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). (NOTE: This same group has another series of tests called SAT Subject Tests that are separate and are not being reviewed in this post.) Although the forerunner of this test was first administered in 1901, the “SAT” was first administered in 1926. As the test developed over the decades, it eventually grew to have two sections: a Verbal and a Math section, until 2005, when it adopted the “SAT Reasoning Test” name and expanded to three sections: Critical Reading, Math, and Writing (more on why this happened below), which is how it stands today.
The ACT Assessment was first administered in 1959 as a competitor to the SAT. Although it was originally put together and administered by American College Testing Program, Inc., the company’s name was changed to ACT Inc. in 1996 with ACT not standing for anything. Unlike the SAT, its format has remained relatively unchanged over the years, with the notable exception of the introduction of its optional Writing section in 2005, mirroring the similar change to the SAT.

The SAT Reasoning Test, In-Depth
The SAT Reasoning Test is administered seven Saturdays per school year. The total testing time is 225 minutes (3 hours, 45 minutes), split up among ten (count them, ten) sections. Sections 1-7 are 25 minutes each, Sections 8-9 are 20 minutes each, and Section 10 is 10 minutes.
The SAT is considered to have three different “tests”: Critical Reading, Mathematics, and Writing, that are each scored between 200-800 points, even though they are split up among the ten sections. Adding up the scores between the sections provides a cumulative score of 600-2400, although this score is unofficial and is not reported by the College Board.
Section 1 of the test is a 25-minute essay, which usually provides a somewhat philosophical question supported by a quote that you respond to in an essay. Although the essay is expected to be of first-draft quality, it still has to meet certain standards, primarily focusing on organization and development of ideas. Two readers each score the essay on a 1-6 scale; the scores are added up to provide a 2-12 essay subscore. If the two scores differ by more than a point, a third reader breaks the non-tie, if you will.
Sections 2-7 of the test are 25-minutes each and consist of two Critical Reading sections, two Mathematics sections, and one Writing section (all multiple choice questions, no more essays) in random order. (Plus, there are two versions of the test, so the order of tests that you may have could be completely different from the person sitting next to you.) In addition, there is also an Experimental section that includes questions for any one of the three subjects. The Experimental section is unscored and is only used to test out new questions, but you have absolutely know idea which of the sections is the Experimental section, so you kinda just have to go along with it. Calculators are allowed only on the Math sections. One of the Math sections will have “grid-in” questions, which means instead of multiple-choice answers, you will produce the number answer yourself and then bubble in the answer within fancy bubble grids. Once you know how they work, they really aren’t that bad.
Sections 8-9 are 20-minute sections, and will be a Critical Reading section followed by a Mathematics section or vice-versa. This Mathematics section will NOT have grid-ins and is again calculator active. Finally, Section 10 is a 10-minute Writing section, again, all multiple-choice.
There is a $45 registration fee for the SAT Reasoning Test.

What’s interesting about the SAT is that it has been surrounded with controversy throughout its history. Even the original name, “Scholastic Aptitude Test,” aroused controversy because many people questioned whether or not the SAT really was an intelligence test. They finally changed the name to Scholastic Assessment Test in 1990, and just condensed it to SAT in 1994.
Many people complained about bias in the questions. One oft-quoted example was an analogy question in which the object was to find the pair of terms having the relationship between “runner” and “marathon”; the correct answer was “oarsman” and “regatta.” Noting that a regatta is a sport pretty much only familiar to the wealthy, it was noted that 53% of white test-takers aced this question, compared to only 22% of black/minority test-takers. In fact, the SAT had fallen so significantly behind that the University of California (UC) system had threatened to drop the SAT as a requirement unless changes were made. Hence, in 2005, the SAT was completely refurbished with the new name (SAT Reasoning Test), the removal of analogies and complete focus on vocabulary and passage reading within the Critical Reading section, a new Writing section and essay, and bumping up the math questions to include Algebra 2.
Even then, controversy continues to exist with many complaining about the mediocrity of the 25-minute essay, and a number of colleges joining the “SAT optional” movement. Though the SAT remains an important test, and though the 2005 changes fixed many issues, the SAT continues to have its detractors.

The ACT Assessment, In-Depth
The much-less-controversial ACT Assessment differs from the SAT in that it doesn’t randomly divide its subjects into numerous sections; instead, it treats each section as an individual test. It is administered six Saturdays a year, and unlike the SAT, its essay is optional. The exam is 175 minutes (2 hours 55 minutes) without the Writing section and 205 minutes (3 hours 5 minutes) with it.
The exam starts with a 45-minute, 75-question English test. The test primarily contains five passages (fifteen questions each) with some grammatical mistakes in them. Most of the questions involve asking what the best way to write these sections are, although a few questions may deviate from that a bit.
The second test is a 60-minute, 60-question Math test, which is all multiple-choice; pretty self-explanatory.
After a break, the third test is a 35-minute, 40-question Reading test. The test includes a Prose Fiction passage, a Social Science passage, a Humanities passage, and a Natural Science passage, in that order, with ten questions each about the passage.
The fourth test is a 35-minute, 40-question Science Reasoning test. Interestingly enough, it doesn’t actually require very much knowledge of science to do well on. There are three Data Representation passages, three Research Summary passages, and one Conflicting Viewpoints passage, in some order, each followed by 5-7 questions, but interestingly enough, the main point of this section is mostly recognizing tables and graphs and being able to interpret data from them. The names of things might be weird, but normally if you can connect A to A and B to B, you’ll be fine.
And finally, the last test is the optional Writing Test, which is a single 30-minute essay. However, the ACT essay seems to be a bit more topical and relevant than the SAT one, since the prompt is actually a controversial topic that is relevant to issues affecting students and schools. (Oh, and having the five extra minutes is also helpful, too.) The ACT’s essay is scored using the same method (and similar standards) as the SAT.
Each test (except the Writing test) is scored on a 1-36 scale; a Composite (overall) Score is reported as the rounded average of the four test scores. If you take the Writing test, you are given a Combined English/Writing Test score (1-36 scale) in addition to the normal English score, plus a 2-12 Essay subscore. However, the Writing Test does not have any effect on the Composite Score.
The ACT is $30 without the Writing test and $44.50 with the Writing test.

My Opinion: Which is Better?
First off, I’ll say one thing very clearly: standardized testing is not the most fun thing in the world to do on a Saturday morning. Neither of these tests is easy, and both require you to prepare. I described some of this in the Thoughts on Standardized Testing post that I wrote a month and a half ago. However, I did personally find myself much more comfortable with the ACT for a number of reasons. First of all, the SAT is long–not just because it takes longer to complete, but having ten different sections does get a bit draining on the brain; my brain started wanting to give it a rest around section 7 or 8. (Of course, the fact that my SAT had three Critical Reading sections in a row wasn’t very nice, either.) Quite frankly, putting all of the questions of a particular topic into one single, longer section seems better to me because it’s easier to budget time between questions, etc.
Even beyond the timing, while the SAT is more of a “reasoning test,” the ACT is a much more straightforward test. Whereas the questions that the SAT asks seem to be more tricky and such that you have to figure out the answer, the ACT feels much more topical in the style of questions that it asks. Oh, and the ACT does not have any vocabulary, compared to the ridiculously archaic vocabulary that the SAT quizzes you on.

The SAT is generally the more commonly-accepted standard for college entrance exams, and there are some who score better on the SAT than the ACT. Personally, however, I found that I preferred the ACT because its format and the types of content that it covers were more accessible and more straightforward while still being an adequately challenging exam. That doesn’t change the fact that I’m trying my best to do well on both exams, but I will say that I believe that the ACT is a much better measurement of academic performance, definitely as it applies to me.

Final Rating of SAT:
Final Rating of ACT:

Update: For the 2008-09 school year, the price of the SAT has increased to $45.

Tags: ACT, College Board, College Entrance Exam, English, essay, exam, math, reading, review, SAT, science, test, Writing