@collegemomjam Honestly, the ACT is an easier test. I really believe that. My S19 studied all summer for the SAT and did very well. I took some tests along with him to show some camaraderie and also because I’m a math tutor and I have students ask me all of the time if they should take the ACT or SAT. Last fall, I had so many kids interested in standardized testing tutoring that I spent a good amount of time also checking out ACT tests. So I can compare them pretty well now.
ACT reading is nonwhere near as hard as SAT reading. Much of SAT reading is from primary sources and the literature is almost always from a classic novel that’s much more difficult that the literature in the ACT. I also think the science section on the ACT is just a game. Read the questions first and go back to the charts and don’t even read the passage. The math on SAT is much tricker and the ACT math is very straightforward.
At our very high performing high school, we know of MANY 36’s but no 1600s. In fact, our S19 knows probably ten kids who have a 36 and can’t break 1520 on the SAT.
I sure hope AOs know the test isn’t harder. From the numbers coming out of the colleges this spring, it’s also clear that the concordance table is also off at least one ACT point for the top of the chart.