Comparison of SAT and ACT

General Information about the ACT

The ACT is a standardized test used as part of college admissions accepted by almost all four-year colleges and universities in the United States and by more than 225 universities outside of the U.S. Originally known as the “American College Test,” the ACT was first administered in 1959. It was developed as an alternative to the SAT, providing a way for students to attend less selective universities than those that required the SAT. Instead of attempting to measure aptitude, the ACT was intended to measure high school-level competencies.

Administration of the ACT

The ACT underwent a significant revision in 2025, with the updated version of the exam being known as the “Enhanced ACT.” This version of the exam can be taken in digital or paper format and contains only three required sections:

English
Math
Reading

The exam also contains two optional sections:

Science
Writing

The Science section is now optional rather than required, and students who choose to complete it will receive a STEM score in addition to their other scores. The Enhanced ACT takes only 2 hours and 5 minutes to complete, plus one 15-minute break. For each optional section taken, an additional 40 minutes is added to the exam time. If a student chooses to take the exam plus one optional section, total test time is 2 hours and 45 minutes. If a student chooses to take the exam plus both optional sections, total test time is 3 hours and 25 minutes.

The Enhanced ACT consists of 131 questions across the required three sections. The optional Science section contains 40 questions, so if this section is taken, the total number of questions increases to 171. The English section contains 50 questions, the Math section contains 45 questions, and the Reading section contains 36 questions. Students have 35 minutes to complete the English section, 50 minutes to complete the Math section, 40 minutes to complete the Reading section, and 40 minutes to complete the optional Science section. Time per question is as follows: English, 42 seconds; Math, 67 seconds; Reading, 67 seconds; Science (optional), 60 seconds, Writing (optional), 40 minutes.

The cost of the Enhanced ACT is $65 for the three required sections, $25 to add on the Writing section, and $4 to add on the Science section. There are several permutations of scores that can be achieved on the ACT, and they are as follows:

Composite score: This score ranges from 1-36 and is based on your performance on the required English, Math, and Reading sections.
Test score: This score ranges from 1-36. You receive one English Test Score, one Math Test Score, one Reading Test Score, and if you choose to complete the optional Science section, you will also receive one Science Test Score.
STEM Score: Students receive this score if they complete both the Math and the Science sections. This score is calculated by taking the average of the Math and Science Test scores. If a student earns a Math Test Score of 30 and a Science Test score of 28, 30+28+58/2=29, so the student would receive a STEM score of 29.
ELA Score: Students receive this score if they complete the English, Reading, and Writing sections. This score is calculated by taking the average of the English, Reading, and Writing Test scores. Calculations are a bit more technical, given that the Writing section is scored on a range of 2-12, but additional information can be found on the ACT website.

Score release dates are posted for each test date and are generally available within 2-4 weeks after the test has been completed.

History of the ACT

The ACT was developed in 1959 at the University of Iowa by a professor named Everett Franklin Lindquist as a competitor to the SAT. Rather than attempting to measure innate cognitive abilities, the ACT was intended to assess the information test-takers learned in high school. It was the first standardized test to include a science section, and it was administered to over 75,000 students in 1959. The original version of the exam consisted of four sections: English, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Natural Sciences. Test-takers were given 45 minutes to complete each section, and the test was scored on a scale of 0-36.

Very little changed on the ACT for several decades. While the SAT was the test of choice among the Northeast and Western United States, the ACT came to dominate the Midwest and South where the SAT had not yet established its presence. Many colleges and universities initially treated the ACT as inferior to the SAT; in fact, Harvard University did not even accept ACT scores until the 1990s.

The first significant revision to the ACT occurred in 1989. The Natural Sciences section was replaced with the Science Reasoning section in an effort to place less emphasis on specific scientific knowledge and greater focus on analytical and problem-solving skills. The Social Studies section was replaced with Reading. While the Social Studies section had previously tested knowledge about U.S. history, the Reading section focused solely on reading ability and comprehension. Trigonometry and pre-algebra were added to the Math section. And in the English section, the focus shifted away from grammar towards writing skills, such as the ability to coherently organize thoughts on paper. Scores from previous versions of the ACT were not directly comparable to the revised exam. Average composite scores changed, as well, with the range of scores going from 0-36 to 1-36.

In 1996, the ACT redefined its name so that the letters no longer stood for the “American College Test.” In 2005, an optional 30-minute Writing section was added to allow the exam to better compete with the SAT, which at the time contained a required essay.

In 2015, the format of the ACT essay was changed so that students were given 40 minutes to write instead of 30 minutes. Essay prompts were expanded to allow students the chance to write about broader changes going on in the world rather than addressing issues specifically related to high school.

The ACT versus the SAT

Initially, the ACT was the underdog in the battle against the SAT. For several years after its 1959 creation, the ACT was seen as a less important and less rigorous exam than the SAT. Over time, however, perception began to change and in 2012, the ACT surpassed the SAT in the number of tests administered. In 2013, more than half of all high school graduates took the ACT. And in 2016, the number of students taking the ACT surpassed two million for the first time ever.

In 2018 and 2019, the SAT reclaimed the title of most popular college entrance exam. This trend continued into 2023, when 1.9 million students took the SAT while 1.4 million took the ACT. While it appears as if both exams will remain popular in the years to come, what matters is taking the exam that best demonstrates your college readiness. The table below provides a comparison of the ACT and SAT across areas such as exam length, number of sections, number of questions, time per question, and more.

Area of Comparison	ACT	SAT
Time to Complete Exam	2 hours and 5 minutes (excluding break and optional sections)	2 hours and 14 minutes (excluding break)
Number of Required Sections	3 - English - Math - Reading	2 - Reading & Writing - Math
Number of Optional Sections	2 - Science - Writing	None
Time Per Section	English: 35 minutes Math: 50 minutes Reading: 40 minutes Science (optional): 40 minutes Writing (optional): 40 minutes	Reading & Writing: 64 minutes Math: 70 minutes
Total Number of Questions	131 for required sections 171 if optional Science section is taken	98
Number of Questions Per Section	English: 50 questions Math: 45 questions Reading: 36 questions Science (optional): 40 questions Writing (optional): 1 essay	Reading & Writing: 54 questions Math: 44 questions
Time Per Question	English: 42 seconds Math: 67 seconds Reading: 67 seconds Science (optional): 60 seconds Writing (optional): 40 minutes	Reading & Writing: 71 seconds Math: 95 seconds
Format	Digital or Paper and Pencil	Digital
Cost	$65 for base test $25 to add Writing section $4 to add Science section	$68
Number of Breaks	1 15-minute break for standard exam after the Math section Additional 5-minute break before optional Writing section if taken	1 10-minute break between Reading & Writing section and Math section

Conclusion

While the ACT was initially viewed as an inferior test compared to the SAT, modern college admissions committees do not discriminate between the exams and do not demonstrate a preference for one over the other. Both the ACT and the SAT are intended to illustrate a student's level of academic accomplishment as well as their readiness to attend an undergraduate program. Prospective test-takers should consider factors such as the cost of each exam, the time commitment required, how easily they can take the exam at a nearby test center, as well as the subject matter assessed by each exam.

Many students take a practice test of both the SAT and the ACT and select the one they perform best on as the exam they will study for and officially submit as part of their undergraduate application. Whichever exam you choose, there are high-quality preparation materials, including books, courses, and private tutoring programs, that can help you achieve the score you need to attend the college or university of your dreams.