Son is going to be taking ACT and I signed him up for the digital version without giving it a second thought, the PSAT was digital, his state sponsored SAT was digital, his APs are digital, school tests are digital, etc. However I recently was talking to some other parents who said a tutoring service they used strongly advised against the digital version. The reasoning has merit (copying math problems to scratch paper increases chance for error and takes time, can’t draw on science charts and graphs, reading/scrolling on a screen) but given I’d now need to pay the huge change test fee I wanted to see if others who’ve done the digital vs. paper have found that to be a real concern, especially since this age group has already become used to digital testing.
Wouldn’t the same concerns apply to the PSAT, SAT, AP tests? If so, did your student find such concerns to be a problem on those tests?
A couple of the larger test prep companies, including Applerouth and Compass prep, recommend sticking with ACT paper for now, and cite some of the reasons you have. You can google their recommendations and read their articles to help you/your D decide what to do.
Sharing our experience. D26 took the full digital version of the ACT spring of junior year for state mandated testing (IL switched from SAT to ACT mid-year). Her scores from the ACT did not seem to reflect our knowledge of her abilities, particularly English & Reading. D26 is a voracious reader but her reading is mostly done using physical media. We had her retake using the paper version and her English & Reading scores increased dramatically, from sort of high 20s on the digital version to a 36 & 35, respectively. Probably some contribution from a bit more prepping and fewer sections (no Science or Writing) but for her, I think the ability to see things in a form she’s used to, plus able to mark on the paper directly was a clear positive.
Hi,
This is a really common concern right now with the shift to digital testing, and you’re definitely not alone in weighing the pros and cons.
From what I’ve seen (and from students I know who’ve taken both formats), the “paper vs digital” impact is a bit more nuanced than it first seems.
A few real-world observations:
1. Comfort level matters more than format preference
Even though students are used to digital screens, standardized testing is a slightly different experience. It’s more structured, timed pressure, and less flexible than school-based digital tests. Some students do find paper feels more “natural” for long problem-solving sections.
2. Math scratch work is the biggest adjustment
You’re right that copying problems over can introduce small errors. That said, most students adapt fairly quickly with practice. It becomes more about developing a consistent scratch method rather than the format itself being a disadvantage.
3. Reading sections
Some students prefer paper because they can physically track lines and annotate more freely. Others actually prefer digital because scrolling lets them focus on one passage at a time. This tends to be very individual.
4. Science/graphs
This is usually less of an issue than expected. Digital tools often allow zooming or interaction, but again it comes down to familiarity.
5. The key factor: practice in the same format
The biggest predictor I’ve seen of success isn’t digital vs paper — it’s whether the student has done enough full-length practice tests in the exact format they’ll use on test day.
So is it worth changing?
If your son is already comfortable with digital school testing (SAT, PSAT, APs), I personally wouldn’t rush to switch unless:
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he strongly prefers paper after trying both
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or practice tests show a clear performance drop in digital format
Otherwise, consistency across his testing experience may actually be an advantage.
Hope that helps and good luck to him on the ACT!
As a parent to parent note, I would not pay a change fee on advice alone. Your son already has the strongest evidence in your post: he has taken digital PSAT, SAT, and AP tests. That history matters more than a general warning about digital testing.
The tutoring concern is real, but it is specific, not universal. It bites hardest in three places: copying a long math setup to scratch paper, tracking a science chart while scrolling, and losing your place in a long reading passage. So test those three things, not the whole format debate.
A simple home check that helped us decide: have him do one timed Math section and one timed Science section in the digital format he will actually use, with only the scratch paper and tools he will have on test day. Then have him mark every miss as content, copying, or time. If copying errors are 0 to 2 and time is not the main problem, staying digital is reasonable. If copying errors keep showing up, or he finishes Math with 5 or more questions blank because of the transfer step, that is a concrete reason to switch, not just a preference.
If you stay digital, two habits close most of the gap:
1. For Math, write the question number, then copy only the numbers and the operation needed, and circle the final answer on paper before entering it. Do not rewrite the whole problem.
2. For Science, read the question first, then look at only the chart or table it names. That stops the scrolling and re-reading that eats time.
For Reading, use the on-screen highlight for the claim or comparison the question asks about, and answer from that highlighted part before looking at the choices. That is the digital version of underlining, and it works if he practices it before test day, not for the first time on test day.
I scored 1600 on the SAT and 36 on the ACT, and the format change that hurt scores most in my experience was not digital versus paper. It was practicing in one format and testing in another. Since your son is already practiced in digital school testing, consistency is a real advantage here. Pay the change fee only if his timed practice in digital shows a clear, repeated problem that paper practice does not show.