If I say SAT, I bet most people will know it instantly. Yes, the SAT is the test you need to take in order to get into universities in the U.S. But ACT, to most people, is just a strange abbreviation that means nothing. What is the ACT then?

The ACT, short for the American College Test, serves a similar purpose as the SAT. The ACT is another standardized American university entrance test, which is less well-known than the SAT to most students. However, believe it or not, the ACT is more popular than the SAT in mid-western U.S. Some people even predict that the ACT will someday “take over” the SAT. Anyhow, I will tell you some basic information about the ACT and then let you decide if you want to take this test or not.

Test Format

1. English Test (45 minutes, 75 questions)

I personally prefer to call this part the grammar test. For those of you who know the SAT well, this section is similar to the improving paragraphs section in the writing section. Basically, ACT will give you five passages that have underlined parts that need to be improved. You are the editor; you have to figure out the best solution according to the rules of grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and rhetorical skills. You will also see questions that ask about the overall content and style.

2. Math Test (60 minutes, 60 questions)

The math section consists of typical multiple choice questions. It covers geometry, algebra, and trigonometry. The ACT’s math section is more comprehensive than SAT’s. Firstly, the SAT does not cover trigonometry at all. Secondly, it has a broad range of questions, both easy ones and difficult ones. Thirdly, you will be more stressed out by the time constraint.

3. Reading Test (35 minutes, 40 questions)

You will read 4 reading passages of around 700 words each. Among the four reading passages, one will be prose fiction, one social science, one humanities, and one natural science. Similar to the math test, you will be more stressed out by the time constraint than with the SAT’s reading section. However, the good news is that its vocabulary is easier and questions are not as tricky.

4. Science Test (35 minutes, 40 questions)

This is the biggest difference between the ACT and the SAT. Please don’t be scared away by the title of this section. You don’t need to know specific scientific knowledge in order to score high. What you need to do is to just simply read 7 passages and then answer questions by analyzing information presented in the passage.

5. OPTIONAL Writing Test (30 minutes, 1 essay)

Before taking the test, please check if the universities you want to apply to require you to take ACT Plus Writing or not. If it is not required, then congratulations, you don’t need to write this section of the test. If you do need to write it, then you have to stay 30 minutes longer. The essay topic will be familiar to most high school students, unlike SAT’s abstruse essay topic. The scoring is the same as SAT essay.

Scoring

The score is reported on a scale of 1 to 36, with 36 being the highest. You will receive separate scores (1-36) for each of the four sections. If you take ACT Plus Writing, you essay score will be integrated into the English section. The final composite score is the average of your scores of the four sections. The test score will be available around 2.5 weeks after your test and but may take two extra weeks if you take the writing section.

Time & Cost

The ACT is offered 6 times a year. The test dates for 2008-2009 are Sept. 13, Oct. 25, Dec. 13, Feb. 7, Apr. 4 and June. 13. Note, the Sept. 13 test date is available only in the US.
ACT without writing costs $31.00, while ACT with writing costs $46.00. For international testing (outside the U.S. and CANADA), you need to pay another $25.00.
This is some basic information about ACT. For more information, you can visit its website at http://www.actstudent.org/ . Good luck on the test!

CINDY HE is a grade twelve student at Magee Secondary in Vancouver, BC. Two years ago, her family immigrated to Canada from China. She went through ESL and now she is a regular student. She hopes this article will be helpful.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f0/ACT.gif