The ACT is an achievement test that is very similar to the SAT in structure and purpose. It is used to assess a student’s readiness to attend college and to determine their level of mastery over high school subjects. The Act is comprised of 5 sections, Reading, Writing, English, Math and Science. Each section, except for the Writing section, are scored from 1-36. The writing section is comprised of essay writing, and is scored from 2-12. The non-writing scores are often more important to universities. In addition the ACT gives an official composite score, which is just the average of your non-writing scores. The English section focuses on grammar, the Math section on common high school math concepts, the Science section on data interpretation and the Reading section on critical reading. The ACT is an alternative to the SAT that is becoming more and more popular every year. It tests more math concepts than the SAT, but the questions are more straightforward. A student’s raw score for each section will correspond to an officially reported percentile each year. This percentile will allow a student to know how they performed relative to their peers. For instance, if a student scored a 31 composite score this could correspond to a percentile of 97. This would mean that the student was at the top 3 % of scorers for this particular test.
SAT vs. ACT
SAT
ACT
3 Sections: Reading, Writing, Math
5 Sections: Reading, Writing, English (Grammar), Math, Science
Aptitude Test
Achievement Test
Stronger emphasis on vocabulary
Less emphasis on vocabulary
No Science section
Science Reasoning section
Math: Geometry and Algebra
Math: Geometry, Algebra, Algebra II, Trigonometry
Sections scored individually; guessing penalty
“Composite” or overall score; no guessing penalty
SAT or ACT?
The SAT was the predominant test for college admissions for decades, but this has changed in recent years. ACT enrollment is up around 50% across America in the last ten years, and admission officers now view each test equally. They do not prefer one test over the other.
Taking this into account, students should simply take the test they will score best on. For Korean students, this is usually the ACT, for the following reasons:
The SAT is more of an aptitude test. It tests for general reasoning skills. The ACT is an achievement test. It measures how well the students have learned certain subjects throughout high school. Thus, the ACT favors students who have an excellent academic record and strong work ethic. SAT questions are generally more tricky, whereas the ACT questions can be more straightforward. However the ACT tests trigonometry and more advanced math concepts while the SAT does not.
The SAT tests vocabulary more than the ACT does. The one section of the test where Korean students are disadvantaged compared to American students is the Reading section, but since the ACT tests vocabulary less than the SAT, Korean students are often able to score more highly on the ACT reading section than the SAT reading section.
The ACT tests Science while the SAT does not. The ACT also tests more mathematical concepts than the SAT does. According to various reports Korean students usually score better on Math and Science sections than American students do, so this also gives them an advantage.
The SAT does not have a composite score. Therefore students are evaluated on a section by section basis. This can be tough for Korean students, since it is common for a student to score well overall, but do relatively poorly on one section (often Reading). For example, a student gets 800 in Math, 700 in Writing and 500 in Reading. That is still 2000, a very a good score. However, the 500 in Reading will stand out a lot and negatively influence the student’s admission chances at top universities.
The ACT also offers a composite score. Colleges will take the average score from each section (out of 36). So, scoring poorly on a section (such as Reading) will not hurt the student if the overall score is good. For example, if a student scores 16 in Reading (a bad score), but 36 in Math, 32 in Science, and 24 in English. Their average score comes out to 27, which is still a very good score. Thus, the lackluster performance on the Reading section will not hurt the student as much as it would on the SAT.
In summary, because the ACT is evaluated in a more balanced way, it benefits Korean students.
With the recent SAT scandal across Korea—the May 4 test was cancelled nationwide and a number of students were not allowed to take the June 1 test—American admissions officers may have a harder time trusting SAT scores from Koreans. Since there has been no scandal with the ACT, the scores may be looked upon more favorably by universities.
For all these reasons, it is clear that most of Asian students have an advantage when taking the ACT instead of the SAT.