ACT growth is outpacing SAT's
The ACT has always been the underdog of college entrance exams, but its popularity is growing. In California, traditionally an SAT stronghold, many college applicants are taking both exams.
Thomas Chun took the SAT college entrance exam twice, scoring well within qualifying range for prestigious research universities, if hundreds of points short of the top mark.
Still, Chun believed his score, 2090 out of a possible 2400, might not stand up against those of other whiz kids at Whitney High, his selective magnet school in Cerritos. So he took the other admissions test, the ACT, and scored a perfect 36.
"I was never a big fan of the SAT," said Chun, 17, of Cerritos, who since sixth grade has dreamed of going to Yale. "The ACT tests you on what you learned in high school rather than what you learned in test prep academy."
The ACT was once the overlooked stepsister to the SAT. It was popular in the Midwest and the South but less established on the East and West coasts. Now, however, the ACT is growing faster than its rival, not only nationally but also in SAT strongholds such as California, where 50% more students in the class of 2008 took the ACT than their 2004 counterparts. Nationwide, the ACT was taken by 1.4 million students in the 2008 class, compared with 1.5 million who took the SAT, according to the test companies.
It is not clear why the ACT, which has competed against the older SAT since 1959, is surging now. There is no evidence that one test is easier or harder than the other, and most colleges consider them equally valid.
The SAT has been battered by accusations of elitism and cultural bias, and recent revisions to the exam -- prompted by criticism from the University of California -- have stirred uncertainty that sent some students scrambling for an alternative, several experts said.
In addition, ACT precursor tests are being marketed to younger and younger students, and the test is cheaper than the SAT. In California, many students appear to use the ACT as a backup, to game the increasingly fierce college admissions competition. At the University of California, which accepts either test, one-third of fall freshman submitted ACT scores, up from 28% the year before. California State University schools accept the SAT or the ACT from students who are required to submit test scores.
"But we are still an 'SAT state,' with 97.0% of all test takers taking the SAT (or a combination of SAT/ACT)," Susan A. Wilbur, UC director of undergraduate admissions, wrote in an e-mail.
