The Princeton Review

SAT vs. ACT

Introductions

Presenter: Jennifer Anderson

JAnderson@review.com 1-800-2Review x5748

www.PrincetonReview.com

Who We Are

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the SAT.

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Everything You Need to Know About the

SAT and ACT

What do SAT and ACT Scores Really Measure?

How well you take the SAT and ACT!

Don’t take scores personally.

Scores are NOT a measure of intelligence.

Anybody, with the proper coaching, can learn how to increase their scores.

SAT PSAT ACT3 hours and 45

minutes2 hours and 10

minutes3 hours and 35

minutes

10 sections: 3-Math, 3-Critical Reading, 3-Writing (including

an essay), 1-Experimental

5 sections: 2-Math, 2-Critical Reading, 1-Writing (no essay)

5 sections: 1- English, 1-Math, 1-

Reading, 1-Science, 1-Writing (with optional essay)

200-800, total score between 600 and

2400

20-80, total score between 60 and 240

1-36

Required for college admissions by most

schools

Not required for college admissions

Required for college admissions by most

schools

Tests at a Glance

Tests at a Glance

SAT/PSAT ACTMath Basic Arithmetic,

Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry

Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry

Science

None Charts/Experiments, Conflicting Viewpoints

Reading

Sentence Completions; short and long Reading Comprehension

Four long Reading Comprehension passages

Writing

Essay and Grammar(no essay on PSAT)

Essay (Optional) and Grammar

SAT Scoring

Each section (Math, Reading and Writing) is scored on a scale of 200-800.

The mean is around 500 for each section.

The Writing score is a combination of Grammar (20-80) and Essay (2-12).

The Grammar makes up about 70% of your Writing Score.

SAT Scoring

Each correct answer earns 1 full point, regardless of level of difficulty.

Each unanswered question earns a student 0 points.

Each incorrect answer to a Student-Produced Response question earns a student 0 points.

Students lose 1/4 point for each incorrect answer to a multiple-choice question.

ACT Scoring

Each section (Math, Reading, English and Science Reasoning) receives an individual score from 1-36.

The four scores are averaged into your Composite Score (1-36).

There is no penalty for wrong answers. Do not leave anything blank! Use a “letter of the day”.

English + Writing = 2/3 English + 1/3 Writing.

SAT Math

Not difficult math. Everything you need to know for SAT math you’ve learned by the end of your sophomore year!

Questions in all math sections of the SAT will be in order of difficulty. The first third will be easy, the middle third will be medium difficulty, and the final third will be hard.

Keep in mind that easy questions will have easy answers. Difficult questions will have difficult answers.

Knowing the order of difficulty in a test section helps you significantly when eliminating answer choices and determining your testing strategy.

ACT Math

All the usual suspects are here: Geometry, Algebra, Arithmetic.

The ACT also includes 4 Trigonometry questions.

Don’t let it scare you - SOHCAHTOA is all you need.

The real scary part of the ACT is 60 multiple choice questions; 60 minutes – that’s 1 minute per question!

SAT/ACT High School

Number of Questions on the exams

Designed so you can’t finish or you really have to rush to finish

Designed so you can finish

Answer Choices Filled with common errors

Goal is to assess strengths and weaknesses, not to try to get a student to answer all questions incorrectly!

Essay 25 min Hours & weeks

Reading Under serious time constraints

Read at home

Writing GRAMMAR! Grammar had emphasis in middle school

Math Hard to understand (especially on the SAT)

Straight forward

Why Students Struggle with

Standardized Tests

Supposed to be indicators of freshman-year success

Males score an average of 42 points higher on the SAT; Females have higher first-year college grades.

Both tests are strongly correlated to family income levels.

Could be used inappropriately for financial aid decisions, scholarship criteria, and NCAA athletics participation.

The SAT and ACT: Who Knew? ACT: score fluctuation is

about 2.2 points (6% of the total).

SAT: score fluctuation is about 30 points (3.75% of the total).

Cut-off scores for college admissions mean that 2/30 points can be significant.

Standardized TestsThisISCovering

Basic Strategies

Practice Makes Perfect

Students should take numerous practice tests!

Students should not under any circumstances take the tests for the first time when it counts towards their admissions!

By taking several practice exams, students:

Increase their confidence & decrease test anxiety by becoming familiar with the test

Increase their overall speed and accuracy

Study practice test resultsPage 16

Basic Strategies

Page 17

Use POE: Process of Elimination

Get in the habit of placing a line through the answers you know are wrong in the test booklet!

Don’t look for right answers; look for wrong ones and get rid of them!

Process of Elimination

What is the capital of Malawi?

Process of Elimination

What is the capital of Malawi?A. Washington, D.C.B. ParisC. TokyoD. LondonE. Lilongwe

On the ACT, you want to use POE on all questions, but when you run out of time at the end of a section, pick a letter of the day

and GUESS! Don’t do it on the SAT! Use POE to help you narrow your choices,

but don’t be afraid to leave questions blank!

The Answer Choices

The test writers are at their best when writing answer choices they know will lure you in!

How do they know which choices you’ll like/not like?Students showed them in past

experimental sections.People are PREDICTABLE!

Say Hello to Joe

Meet Joe Bloggs!

Test writers spend a lot of money getting to know JOE!

Joe Knows

Let’s see Joe in Action:

If I say Peanut Butter, you say….

If I say Boy, you say…

If I say Left, you say…

There is a little bit of Joe in all of us

The answer choices on the tests are written for JOE!

Learn how Joe approaches the test, and you’ll know what NOT to do!

We know Joe!

Joe Knows Math!

18. In the figure below, what is the GREATEST number of nonoverlapping regions into which the shaded region can be divided with exactly two straight lines?

A. 6B. 5C. 4D. 3E. 2

SAT Math

18. In the figure below, what is the GREATEST number of nonoverlapping regions into which the shaded region can be divided with exactly two straight lines?

A. 6B. 5C. 4D. 3E. 2

SAT Math

18. In the figure below, what is the GREATEST number of nonoverlapping regions into which the shaded region can be divided with exactly two straight lines?

A. 6B. 5

D. 3E. 2

SAT Math

18. In the figure below, what is the GREATEST number of nonoverlapping regions into which the shaded region can be divided with exactly two straight lines?

A. 6B. 5

SAT Math

18. In the figure below, what is the GREATEST number of nonoverlapping regions into which the shaded region can be divided with exactly two straight lines?

B. 51

2

3 4

5

Passage-Based Reading

These are little, open-book tests. Make sure you go back to the passage and come up with your own answer before looking at the answer choices.

On long passages, the questions will appear chronologically. Speed up your search for an answer by knowing where to look!

ACT Science Reasoning

Think of it as Technical Reading – you don’t need to be a science whiz!

• Basic understanding of the scientific method will help you out.• Not much science knowledge is needed.• Reading and understanding charts and graphs.

There are 3 types of science questions:1. Charts and Graphs: consists only of charts and graphs.2. Experiments: combination of reading text and charts and graphs in

the same question.3. Fighting Scientists: much like the reading section, only reading text,

no charts and graphs.

This is a GREAT section to work out of order. Usually students find charts and graphs easiest of the

questions. Do those first!

SAT Writing/ACT English

Don’t believe your ears. Memorize the rules.

In the year 1492, Columbus discovered the New World even though he was actually trying to reach India.

SAT Writing/ACT English

What about this one? Don’t forget not to trust your ears!

Each night, the majority of people goes hungry.

Don’t be afraid to pick No Error!

The Essays

How long do you think SAT and/or ACT graders take to grade essays?

No Joke!

Essays are graded in approximately 60 seconds

The Essays

SAT ACTEach essay scored on scale of 1-6, 2-12 combined

Each essay scored on scale of 1-6, 2-12 combined

Not optional Optional

First section on the test Separate section, given at the end and is optional

Make a statement and defend it You MUST consider the opposing viewpoint

The biggest difference between the essays – the question content!

Using the graders to your advantage:

1. Length counts. Use those lines2. Think before you write!3. Neatness will count4. Answer the question5. Conclusion6. Triumph of style over substance7. Keep it simple8. If you can’t spell it, don’t use it

Essays – First Impressions Count

Page 37

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