I have the student take each of the tests (timed) and compare the scores. Here are a few examples. A straight A student of mine scored a 610 on her SAT math practice test. On her ACT, she scored a 35 in science and a 27 in math, which is about equivalent to an SAT score of 710—100 points higher. Since then she’s raised her math to a 31, and she’s only just begun. Choice: ACT. Another student, this one also very good at math—scored a 23 on ACT science, and a 22 on ACT math, a surprisingly low score. When he took the SAT math practice test, he scored a 580. Since this was slightly better, and since he absolutely hated the ACT, we decided to stick with the SAT, on which he eventually scored a 740. Choice: SAT. A third student, very conscientious at math, had ACT and SAT scores that were about equivalent. After talking strategy with him, we decided to go with the SAT, as he would only have to focus on math, since there’s no science section on the SAT. He ended up with a 760. Choice: SAT. His sister decided to do the same and is scoring in the high 700s on practice tests. Choice: SAT

I’ve found that if a student is already committed to one of the tests, it’s usually on the advice of their college counselor, who knows them quite well. We’ll go with that choice, unless there is evidence that it might make sense to switch, in which case I discuss it with the counselor.

We work on both. For instance, the math section of the ACT is more time critical than the SAT. This doesn’t mean you have to force yourself to work faster—which leads to more mistakes—but more efficiently. We learn, therefore, the most efficient way to solve the problems, which often isn’t the way we learned to do them in school. This involves both strategy and skill, which is gained by doing actual ACT math and science tests that have been given in the past. (Though the number of math questions has changed, the questions types have not; nor have the science questions changed.) In addition, math skills are reinforced by homework assignments covering the various areas covered by the ACT. Regarding those skills, it’s not uncommon for students who are sophomores or juniors, who may be taking Honors Algebra or Precalculus, to miss the “easier” problems at first because they involve topics they learned in the 7th or 8th grade. As might be expected, this quickly comes back to them.

The math section of the SAT involves more steps and more in-depth math reasoning than the ACT, and does not cover as wide an area of math. Time isn’t usually an issue, but since the more difficult questions are somewhat similar to what they might have seen on the “challenge” sections of their math tests—as opposed to the ACT questions, which tend to be more straight forward—test familiarity is very important. This familiarity, which involves both skill and strategy, comes from doing the Bluebook practice tests, which we correct after each test, and working through the hard questions in the College Board question bank. As far as strategy goes, it is also important to understand that the SAT test is adaptive—unlike the ACT—meaning that you want to do well enough on the first module to be sent to the more difficult second module, which allows you to get a higher score. As with the ACT, the math skills also have to be there, which are reinforced by homework assignments covering the various areas covered by the SAT.

When we begin our sessions, I tell my students that the first goal is to get their score to start with the number 3, if it’s the ACT, or the number 7, if it’s the SAT. After that, it’s 33-36 on the ACT, and 750-800 on the SAT. (Of course, not everyone can hit those scores, but that’s the goal.) For students with ACT scores starting in the 26+ range, they’re often able to hit 30-31, though I had a student go from a 26 to a 33. If the scores are starting at 29+, I’ve seen quite a few score 33-36. For those taking the SAT, here are some of the improvements I’ve seen: starting score 530, final score 700, improvement 170; starting score 600, final score 740, improvement 140; starting score 620, final score 780; improvement 160; starting score 650, final score 760, improvement 110.

I’ve been prepping students for the new ACT during the entire transition period, so I’m completely up-to-date. Fortunately, beginning with September 2025 test, the paper test and the online test will be the same, which wasn’t the case before, and which placed students taking the paper test at a disadvantage. The current changes are quite advantageous. For science you have an additional five minutes to finish the test. With the previous science ACT (paper), students often found themselves running out of time during the last 3-4 questions, which they would have gotten correct, if they’d had enough time. Hopefully, this additional time will allow for better scores. For math, the number of questions has been reduced by 15, while the time has only been reduced by 10 minutes. This equates to getting almost 7 additional minutes if you were taking the previous 60 question ACT paper test. In addition, there are only 4 answer choices, instead of 5, and no more 3 question sets based on one set of data. In other words, every question is a stand-alone question, meaning that you won’t run into the problem of not understanding a data set problem and missing 3 questions as a result.

That’s a tough one, as the number of sessions often depends on how much work the student is putting in on their homework when we are not in session. If they are doing the work, they’ll advance more quickly. It also depends on other important factors, such as: their baseline score, the score they want to achieve, the colleges they are applying to, their current level of math and their grades in their math classes (and science classes, if taking ACT), and whether or not they have test accommodations. If I had to put a number to it, I’d say about 12 sessions to prep for the first test.