SAT v ACT

ACT, just like SAT, is a standardized test that colleges or undergraduate programs in universities use as a benchmark to assess a student’s readiness for college.

The ACT has four testing areas (apart from an optional essay):

Section No. of Questions Time Limit Format
English Test $75 45 minutes Multiple choice with 4 choices Mathematics Test$60 60 minutes Multiple choice with 5 choices
Reading Test 40 35 minutes Multiple choice with 4 choices
Science Test 40 35 minutes Multiple choice with 4 choices
Writing (optional) 1 essay 40 minutes Hand-written essay response

#### ACT Scoring

Each of the sections is scored for the number of correct responses, which is the raw score. There is no penalty for unanswered questions or incorrect responses.

• The raw scores on each of the sections is converted into a scaled score of 1 to 36 points.
• The composite score is computed by averaging the four scaled scores. If the resulting number ends in a fraction, round it to the nearest whole number. (Round down any fraction less than one-half; round up any fraction that is one-half or more.)

This conversion from raw score to scaled score is done to account for differences in difficulty between various test versions of the test conducted on different dates.

The Writing section is scored on a scale of 1 to 6 points.

The student response is evaluated on four parameters:

1. Ideas & Analysis
2. Development & Support
3. Organization
4. Language use

SAT to ACT Score Concordance

To compare the equivalent ACT score for a particular SAT Score, refer to the tables below.

#### SAT Total to ACT Composite Concordance Table

SAT Total Score Range Single point SAT Score to consider ACT Composite Score
1570-1600 1590 36
1530-1560 1540 35
1490-1520 1500 34
1450-1480 1460 33
1420-1440 1430 32
1390-1410 1400 31
1360-1380 1370 30
1330-1350 1340 29
1300-1320 1310 28
1260-1290 1280 27
1230-1250 1240 26
1200-1220 1210 25
1160-1190 1180 24
1130-1150 1140 23
1110-1120 1110 22
1060-1090 1080 21
1030-1050 1040 20
990-1020 1010 19
960-980 970 18
920-950 930 17
880-910 890 16
830-870 850 15
780-820 800 14
730-770 760 13
690-720 710 12
650-680 670 11
620-640 630 10
590-610 590 9

For lower scores, there is not enough data to produce a valid concurrence between SAT and ACT

#### SAT Math to ACT Math Concordance Table

SAT Math Score Range Single point SAT Score to consider ACT Math Score
800 800 36
770-790 780 35
760 760 34
740-750 740 33
720-730 720 32
710 710 31
690-700 700 30
680 680 29
660-670 660 28
630-650 640 27
610-620 610 26
590-600 590 25
570-580 580 24
550-560 560 23
540 540 22
530 530 21
520 520 20
510 510 19
490-500 500 18
460-480 470 17
420-450 430 16
380-410 400 15
350-370 360 14
320-340 330 13
300-310 310 12
280-290 280 11
260-270 260 10

For lower scores, there is not enough data to produce a valid concurrence between SAT and ACT

#### SAT Evidence-based Reading & Writing (ERW) to ACT English + Reading Concordance Table

SAT ERW Score Range Single point SAT Score to consider ACT English + Reading Score
790-800 790 72
770-780 770 71
750-760 750 70
740 740 69
730 730 68
720 720 67
710 710 66
700 700 65
64*
690 690 63
680 680 62
61*
670 670 60
660 660 59
58*
650 650 57
640 640 56
55*
630 630 54*
53
620 620 52
610 610 51*
50
600 600 49
590 590 48
580 580 47
46*
570 570 45
560 560 44
550 550 43
540 540 42*
41
520-530 520* 40
520 520 39
510 510 38
500 500 37*
36
490 490 35
480 480 34
470 470 33
460 460 32
450 450 31
440 440 30
430 430 29
420 420 28
410 410 27
400 400 26
390 390 25
380 380 24
370 370 23
360 360 22
350 350 21
340 340 20
330 330 19
320 320 18
310 310 17
300 300 16
290 290 15
280 280 14

* Single point ACT score to consider.

For lower scores, there is not enough data to produce a valid concurrence between SAT and ACT