The ACT, or American College Testing, is a standardized collegiate examination, similar to the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). In use since 1959, it is commonly used as an indicator of academic aptitude and readiness to enter college. Although the ACT is not as well-known as the SAT, it is almost as widespread; as of 2008, nearly all four-year colleges and universities in the United States accept the ACT, although every school factors the results into admission decisions differently.
The test itself consists of four subject multiple-choice examinations; the exams cover English, mathematics, science and reading. A fifth exam, an essay writing test, was added in 2005, though not all schools require the essay portion of the test. Questions on the ACT are based on testing standards developed by national governing organizations such as the American Educational Research Foundation, as well as national and state standards for education.
The current SAT includes three sections, each of which can earn a maximum score of 800 and a minimum score of 200. For the test-taker’s final score, the College Board adds the three scores together; typically, a percentile is included with the score, calculated on the basis of scores from students who took comparable tests.
The first section of the SAT is mathematics, which is divided into three sections. Most of the questions have multiple choice answers, although several questions require test-takers to fill in their numerical answers on an optical answer sheet. The next section is critical reading, which requires test-takers to read short passages and fill out the correct responses to multiple choice questions. Students must also be able to fill in the blanks in sentences using a list of word choices, demonstrating vocabulary skills. Finally, the writing section of the SAT requires students to write a brief essay, and to respond to questions which test the writing and editing skills of the test-taker.
