ACT vs. SAT: What to Know and Why It Matters

This is something we hear a lot from parents. They worry a lot about standardized tests because their kid isn’t a great test taker, even though their grades may be great. Kelly says bad test takers are really our own fault.

Currently, our school system is set up to rigorously test students throughout the year. Students are expected to recall the information from certain chapters or topics on a test. However, standardized tests aren’t built like this, they’re built around problem-solving.

Here’s a great example that shows how this testing method is problematic. There’re third-grade level math questions on the ACT, and what we often see happen is students try to attach some complex formula they learned in high school to that problem. They try to recall their information rather than problem solve.

Standardized testing is a skill that is vital for students to learn. In college and beyond, there will be even more standardized testing, especially for certain fields and professions (like Nursing Students). Every college will accept the ACT or SAT. If you score better on one versus the other, this is good news for you.

While the SAT and ACT differ, they did revamp the SAT after 18 years to be a little closer to the ACT. Here’s what you should know about each.

This test is very strategic with the information they test on. So, if students understand what they’re being tested on, they can identify what the question is testing them on and more easily answer. The strategies we are referring to here can be taught and will be used on future standardized tests in college.

College Recruiting Specialists can help a student prepare by pinpointing these strategies and teaching them the skills required to solve the now identifiable problem. Our average student increases their ACT score by 5 to 8 points. That score can impact scholarships as well.

Some parents struggle with the point of these standardized tests. It’s important to remember that, on a national level, it’s impossible for colleges to keep track of all of the various school curriculums. With this test, they also don’t know anything about the student that could influence special treatment.

It’s truly standard across the board and it ends up legitimizing the student’s GPA. This standard allows faulty curriculum to grow and also helps colleges identify student slackers. How you perform on these tests matters greatly as it is meant to determine a student’s ability.

Students are really taught to recall information more than problem solve. Standardized testing (ACT and SAT) revolve around problem solving and many parents wonder why their students stink at this type of testing. Standardized Tests very important to colleges and students will take more in college (and beyond for certain professions).

Knowing how to develop and refine the skills of problem-solving strategies used by Standardized Tests has never been more important. Visit our Contact page to get started.