Should you take the ACT test?

What is the ACT Test and why should you bother taking it? Should you take the ACT if you already took the SAT test? Do all colleges accept scores from the ACT test?

For some reason, everyone seems to know about the SAT test, but not everyone is as knowledgeable about the ACT test. Hopefully this will help you and your parents’ sort through the facts.

First of all, “ACT” used to stand for American College Testing, but in 1996 they decided to change their name to ACT Inc., and now the letters don’t stand for anything. That’s pretty much what the College Board did with their SAT test, which used to stand for Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test. Now it’s simply the SAT Reasoning Test. The ACT test was originally designed to be a competitor to the SAT test, and to this day, it is basically just that. They cost approximately the same, with the ACT assessment test costing $31 and when you add their writing module, $46. The SAT test costs $45.

Having both tests available is very beneficial to students, primarily because over they years it’s been noted that students who do poorly on the SAT do better on the ACT, and vice versa. According to Sparknotes, the two tests have very different philosophies. They say, “The ACT strives to assess the knowledge you’ve acquired, meaning that the test focuses on subjects and skills taught in high school. The SAT tries to assess “innate ability.” It does so using tricky and confusing phrasing to determine your test-taking skills, (i.e. your performance under pressure and your ability to identify what’s being asked.” On the ACT website they give the difference as, “The ACT is an achievement test, measuring what a student has learned in school. The SAT is more of an aptitude test, testing reasoning and verbal abilities.” So I would say that the bottom line is you should take both tests.

Students on the east coast and west coast of the United States, (plus those in Hawaii, Alaska and Indiana are more likely to take the SAT. Students in the Midwest and South, including Arizoan, tend to prefer the ACT. The primary thing the SAT test has going for it is the National Merit Scholarship, which is quite prestigious, and you can become eligible for by taking the PSAT by your junior year.

The ACT test is divided into 4 parts, with an optional writing section. The other subjects are English, Math, Reading and Science Reasoning. Each section is timed. English is 45 minutes with 75 questions; Math is 60 minutes with 60 questions covering pre-algebra, elementary algebra, intermediate algebra, plane geometry, coordinate geometry and trigonometry. They permit calculators. The SAT and ACT have different calculator requirements. Reading is a 35-minute section with 40 questions, which cover reading comprehension, prose fiction, social science, humanities and natural science. The writing section is an additional 30 minutes and it is an essay question about a social issue that would apply to high school students.

The ACT is an easier test to study for, since it’s more about the factual things you have learned in high school. They have an “online Prep” course you can purchase for a year at $19.95. When you sing up you will receive:

• Practice tests with real ACT test questions
• Practice essays for the new optional ACT Writing Test, with real-time scoring
• Comprehensive content review for each of the ACT's four required tests—English, Math, Reading, and Science
• Diagnostic test and personalized Study Path
• Anywhere, anytime access via the Internet

All 4-year colleges and universities in the United Stated accept ACT test scores.

Fee waivers are available through your high school counselor. You may use a fee waiver twice. The next test will be held on September 13^th. Late registration, (which means an extra fee of $20) will go into effect August 13 – 22. After that you will be signing up for the October 25^th test.  The test is offered in English only. However if the student is residing in a foreign country, it is sometimes available there. (Beirut Lebanon, October 25, Bangladesh, October 25^th or April 4^th, and a myriad of dates and cities in the Bahamas. Sign me up.)

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