ACT knows students are “more than a score” and helps them plan for their futures with free college and career planning resources to help them evaluate their interests and make connections between those interests, education, and the work world.
Data collected from the SAT’s optional questionnaire is used primarily for admissions, advising, and scholarship awards. It does not explore career planning.1
ACT research shows that 49% of students have an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) college majors and careers.
The ACT science test:
The SAT still excludes a science test or a focus on STEM.
The entire ACT mathematics test is multiple-choice. Students may also use a calculator on every question, although all questions can be solved without one.
The SAT mathematics test includes a 20-question section that does not allow calculators. Additionally, 22% of the test is grid-ins, meaning you must write your own answers in the blanks provided.2
Students and colleges have relied on ACT scores for more than 50 years, and the focus has ALWAYS been student readiness for college and career based on what they’ve learned in high school. That’s one reason the ACT test has been taken more than 3 million times in 2017 and is accepted at all US colleges and at 225 universities worldwide.
The SAT introduced a major shift from testing aptitude to testing how ready students are for college and career. ACT has always done this and leads the way in this type of testing.3
Ongoing research affects every update made to the test. Every few years, ACT polls thousands of US educators on skills and knowledge needed for college-level courses. This ensures that the ACT is continually improved and always measures what students need to succeed.
In fact, nearly 10,000 high school and college educators and business professionals participated in the most recent ACT National Curriculum Survey®.
The SAT relies on a group of selected subject matter experts.4