On a recent Sunday, the New York Times added an education section to the bundle. In it, a guidance counselor named Michelle Slatella wrote at length about taking the ACT versus taking the SAT (see sample tests online) Some of her ideas matched well with StudyBuddy's experience.

Certainly there's no harm in taking both tests, if you can afford the time and the money. (One of the two is usually offered free by the school, fairly late in the junior year. We always advise families to pay the fee to take it once ahead of time, for practice, and ask that the score be reported only to the student.) If you can't take both tests a couple of times each, here are some thoughts to consider.

The ACT contains some general science questions. The SAT does not. Both test mathematics and English language skills, but they do that in different ways.

The ACT has some trigonometry. The SAT does not go beyond first year algebra and plane geometry. Unlike its language section, its math section has few trick questions. About all you need to know is that the questions are arranged with progressive difficulty as the test proceeds. Because you need to be very fast in working the calculations, it's wasteful to use up time doing the difficult questions you're unsure how to solve. You should quickly do as many as possible throughout the test, being sure you have answered all of the ones that are of only moderate difficulty. If you have to skip any, skip the ones at the end.

English language skills are tested by the ACT primarily by questions on grammar, punctuation, and syntax. The writing test is optional, but it's foolish to avoid it. Every college is impressed by a student who writes well, and will think twice about the student who is not willing to show writing skills.

On the SAT, it's truly necessary to do serious vocabulary work in preparation. Probably, without some review of Latin roots, the average student will not do well: teenage conversations are notoriously rather limited in the kinds of words needed. On the Critical Reading section, questions are much less straightforward than on the ACT. They are definitely not like classroom tests, and do not simply test whether you know the material. They are presented as puzzles, challenging the student to work out what is really being asked. Kids often get blind-sided by trick questions if they haven't been coached in how to look for them. **StudyBuddy** often uses the most recent Voter Information pamphlet to train students in dealing with this type of question: it hones their skills.

Since test-taking largely tests comfort levels on the test itself, both students and their parents might consider taking the a practice test of each type. Full practice tests are available at the Princeton Review website. They're interesting and well worth the time --- give them a try!