New SAT vs Old SAT vs the ACT
How clear is the alphabet soup of college entrance exams?
by Karyn Brodsky | Staff Writer
College entrance examinations can induce anxiety for many students. A new concern has emerged: should one opt for the updated SAT test or the previous edition? Or maybe the ACT is a better option?
The College Board declared that starting in spring 2016, the SAT will revert to its format prior to 2005, featuring a 1600-point scale (instead of 2400), and the essay section will become optional.
Current high school juniors and seniors graduating in 2015 and 2016 will not face any changes, as the existing SAT will be administered until January 2016. Therefore, students up to and including the class of 2016 should keep studying for the current SAT format.
Students graduating in 2017 and later have several choices. They can take the current SAT before spring 2016 and avoid the new version altogether, or they can take both versions, submitting the higher score to colleges. However, this could cause issues, as scaling and percentiles may not be available for the initial administration of the new test.
The dilemma remains: should students prepare for the new SAT or the ACT?
According to an article from Bloomberg Business, the primary distinction between the old SAT and the ACT lies in their formats. The SAT consists of a single test broken into 10 sections, covering Writing, Critical Reading, and Math. The first section is always an essay, which accounts for 25% of the Writing score. In contrast, the ACT comprises five separate tests of differing lengths, including English, Math, Science, Reading, and Writing. The ACT does not penalize for guessing; students are merely not scored for incorrect answers, while the SAT deducts a quarter of a point for each wrong answer.
Private educational consultant Robert Allsop from Dallas summarizes the difference, stating that the SAT is a logic-based assessment, while the ACT focuses purely on knowledge. Allsop helps students find colleges that fit their profiles and notes that all colleges now accept either test. He encourages students to conduct research and try practice exams to determine which test suits them better. He believes the redesigned SAT will be an improvement because it is expected to remove the guessing penalty. “I think students will perform better on the new SAT,” Allsop adds.
Contrastingly, Annie Mack of Slingshot Prep, which employs seven tutors in Addison, disagrees. She argues that even the redesigned SAT is less equitable than the ACT. “We advocate for the ACT,” Mack says, “because it tests what you know, as opposed to the SAT which often resembles a puzzle requiring deciphering the questions. This doesn’t necessarily indicate whether a student is ready for college.”
Mack further explains that her office believes the repetitive, consistent, and predictable nature of the ACT is advantageous. “Currently, we’re not impressed with the changes in the new SAT in terms of questioning. We don’t see this as a chance to adopt early; we believe a few test administrations are needed to evaluate its effectiveness. We view taking the new SAT now as an unnecessary risk.”
For a detailed comparison of the old and new SAT formats, you can visit collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat-suite-assessments/exam-changes/sat-redesign-specs.
Summer Study:
Scoring Higher on College Entrance Exams Is All About the Prep
The very thought of college entrance examinations can spark fear even in the most self-assured students. However, there’s no need for panic according to Varun Tewari, owner of Victory Step Test Prep, an educational service with locations in Dallas and Plano. “The ACT and SAT are tedious, so a significant part of the challenge is simply enduring the test,” Tewari remarks with a smile.
Victory Step specializes in preparing students for the ACT and SAT, offers academic tutoring for grades 6 to 12, and helps college students get ready for the GRE and GMAT exams. Students receive personalized tutoring either in their homes or in small class settings at one of Tewari’s centers. CBS News has ranked Victory Step among the Top 5 Best Test Prep and Tutoring Companies in the Dallas/Fort Worth region.
Tewari highlights what differentiates Victory Step:
1. Quality tutors. The company exclusively hires individuals who have scored in the top 2% on the SAT or ACT.
2. Engaging instructors who make learning enjoyable.
3. A comprehensive, tailored curriculum aimed at addressing weaknesses identified in an initial practice test.
4. Affordable tuition.
“Our goal is for students to be satisfied with their performance. That success comes from practice,” Tewari states. Victory Step Readies students to enter the “test zone” which helps cultivate endurance. They must be mentally and physically equipped to excel, which includes getting adequate sleep, having breakfast on exam day, and being prepared to tackle the test.
As a general guideline, college admissions components are composed of 20% extracurricular activities, 35% GPA, and 45% standardized test scores, yet the distribution of study efforts is not proportional. “Throughout high school, students dedicate around 400-500 hours to extracurricular activities, approximately 4000-5000 hours to attain their GPA, and only around 4 hours for the ACT or SAT without additional preparation,” says Tewari. To counteract this imbalance, Victory Step provides 50 hours of classroom instruction and an extra 50 hours of homework.
Tewari measures his achievement through the happiness of his clients and the number of referrals. Sheree Rose, a Plano mother, states that her son’s ACT Composite score improved by 5 points after attending Victory Step. (The Composite score ranges from 1 [low] to 36 [high] and is the average of four ACT test scores: English, Math, Reading, and Science.) “I wish I had chosen Victory Step for all my children. They excel at teaching and motivating.”
According to Tewari, summer is an excellent time for ACT and SAT prep. “It’s a prime time to retain more information—free from distractions like AP exams or school-year activities.”
“Summer is a great time to prepare for the ACT and SAT. It’s a good time to retain more material…without distractions like AP exams or school year extracurriculars.”
– Varun Tewari, owner of Victory Step Test Prep
