The Scholastic Aptitude Test, commonly known as the SAT, has been a national leader in standardized testing, indicative of college preparedness and readiness.
However, the SAT, administered by the College Board, fails to achieve this benchmark, leaving the door open for the ACT, an alternative test to the SAT, to gain more takers. According to The Washington Post, the majority of students applying to colleges took the ACT than the SAT for the first time in 2011.
The SAT has been in service since 1926, while the ACT was established in 1959. Yet, this is not the only difference between the two tests which hypothetically test one’s preparedness college.
On the SAT, students are assessed in three areas: critical reading, math, and writing, the latter which encompasses a required essay. Each area of the test is divided into three sections that get progressively shorter as the test endures.
The ACT is four sections long with reading, writing, math, and science multiple-choice sections. The ACT has an optional essay portion that is averaged with the writing multiple-choice score, but most colleges require it for admission.
Attributes of the SAT and ACT appeal to certain students, while the pace of the test is also a factor.
“Students who find math or vocabulary more challenging tend to enjoy the ACT more than the SAT, as the ACT is more straight-forward in its questions, and focuses less on vocabulary-based questions,” John Cadenhead, Director of Tutor Services at Applerouth Tutoring, said. “That said, the ACT is a faster test, and demands that the student work at a brisker pace, so students who struggle with speed may like the SAT more than the ACT.”
The greatest criticism of the SAT regards its reading section, which tests knowledge of higher level vocabulary. Students must fill in sentences with vocabulary words that are not commonly used or useful.
“There was a lot of vocabulary [on the SAT] which you need to know and don’t use [in real life],” senior Kimana Bowen said.
With the SAT format, the questions are difficult and wordy. The ACT is more streamlined and tests common knowledge that is applicable to other areas of life, rather than just for a test as the SAT does.
“Personally I found the SAT harder because the problems were more difficult and wordy,” junior Laura Downs, who has taken both tests, said.
The College Board has recently alluded to changes to the SAT format and content, which, if implemented, will allow the SAT to be comparable to the ACT.
College Board President David Coleman stirred these rumors after making statements disapproving the essay portion. He believes that the essay puts emphasis on personal narrative rather than formulating a coherent argument, a skill necessary to be successful in college.
The changes were formally announced in February, with no date in regards to implementation.
The improved SAT will correlate with the Common Core standards, which have been adopted by forty-six states and strive to align state standards for students progressing through secondary level education.
Coleman contributed to the writing of Common Core standards before he joined the College Board in September 2012 and believes following them will improve the focus of the SAT.
“The SAT is designed to make students dissect and process the abstract language the questions and answers will be in, but I would argue that is part of its charm,” Cadenhead said. “I think that a focus more on the common core would be beneficial for the SAT though.”
“An improved SAT will strongly focus on the core knowledge and skills that evidence shows are most important to prepare students for the rigors of college and career,” Coleman said in an email to 6,000 College Board employees.
Although there is no preliminary information about the scope and extent of the changes, Coleman envisions that these changes will test prospective college students on important college guidelines.
The changes come in response to a growing achievement gap between socio-economic levels of society, as well as the decreased market of SAT test takers.
Critics of the SAT attribute the increasing achievement gap between different economic levels to the accessibility of prep classes to those of higher income families, putting lower economic students at a major disadvantage.
It should not be necessary for someone to have to take an extensive preparatory course to perform well on the SAT. The SAT should allow a student to demonstrate his or her knowledge, not learn tricks to please the SAT graders and be prepared for questions on obscure content.
Coleman has addressed this problem, particularly in his criticism of the writing section. Cadenhead reacted to the discussion of changes positively.
“The idea of changing the SAT will make for an exciting time for future students,” Cadenhead said. “Last time, in 2006, when the SAT changed its test, it added the writing section of the test, increasing the length and scoring process of the test. It took a few years of results for colleges to decide just how to recognize the writing section of the SAT, and I would predict that, depending on how big the changes are, colleges will do something similar.”
The changes Cadenhead mentioned are just a few in a whole series of changes the SAT has undergone since its beginning in 1926. This fact leads many analysts to believe further alterations would sway more students away from taking the SAT.
Even so, the College Board is taking a step in the right direction by acknowledging the test’s faults.
The ACT has capitalized on the SAT’s current weaknesses, but if the College Board opts to change the format and content, the two national tests will be more comparable at determining college readiness.
While the ACT trumps the SAT currently, the proposed changes according to Coleman’s vision will benefit prospective college students in the future.
