Sat/Act Survival Guide

Careers and Colleges, Sept, 2000 by Jaclyn Lieber

TO REGISTER: Pickup up a registration booklet at your guidance office, order one by calling the Educational Testing Service (ETS) at 609-921-9000, or register online at www.collegeboard.org.

COST: $23.50

A GLANCE

ACT (The ACT Assessment)

WHAT IT IS: A four-hour multiple-choice exam that tests academic ability in four high school curriculum areas

FORMAT: Four sections--math, English, reading, and science

SCORING: Scale of 1 to 36 for each section; final score is an average of the four scores; 1999 average composite score, 21.

WHO TAKES IT: 1.75 million high school students each year

WHEN TO TAKE IT: Spring of junior year or fall of senior year

TO REGISTER: Pick up a registration booklet at your guidance office, order one by calling the ACT at 319-337-1270, or register at www.act.org.

October is the most popular SAT test date, while April is the most popular for the ACT.

DON'T DO IT!

Here are some common test pitfalls to avoid.

* Reading the directions for the first time on test day. Save time by becoming familiar with the format in advance.

* Rushing. Racing to finish causes test-takers to mismanage their time and make dumb mistakes. Accuracy is far more important than speed. On the SAT, except for the critical reading passages, the last three questions of each section are the hardest. Don't even look at those questions until you have finished the easier ones. Return to difficult questions at the end if you have time.

* Guessing without a clue. On the SAT, you lose a fraction of a point for wrong answers, so experts recommend tat you guess at an answer only if you can eliminate at least one of the choices. (That's making an educated guess.) On the ACT, you don't lose points for incorrect answers, so feel free to guess. But if you're stumped, try to eliminate the answers you know are wrong.

* Lingering on one question. If you spend too much time on a particular question, you may never get to the end of the section. Answer the questions you do know and come back to the rest when you're done.

* Ignoring answer choices. Test makers love to give you answers that look good at first glance, so be sure to look at all the options before choosing your final answer.