Comparing the SAT and ACT: What Educators Should Consider

Throughout its 125-year history, the not-for-profit College Board has been unwavering in its mission to connect all students to postsecondary opportunities.  

The SAT plays an important part in this work.

Along with the entire SAT Suite of Assessments, College Board has offered the SAT in a fully digital format since spring 2024.

In one two-hour test, the SAT offers an objective measure of the core math and reading and writing skills students need for any postsecondary pathway. Aligned to state standards, the SAT provides insights and resources educators and students trust—coupled with unmatched flexibility, operational stability, and accessibility.

Today, more students take the SAT than any other college admissions test. 

Keep reading to learn about the unique benefits the test offers to educators and students as well as the differences between the SAT and ACT.

The Journey to Digital Excellence

Before introducing digital testing to state, district, and school partners, College Board spent three years developing a new digital testing platform, Bluebook™, and conducting extensive research and field testing. 

More than 70,000 students participated in pilot administrations to transform the SAT into an effective digital experience. 

This process allowed us to deliver a test that’s:

• Fast: The adaptive format allows for a shorter testing time—just over two hours—while also preserving the validity of the test. This means less time testing and more time for instruction.
• Flexible: In the fall, states, districts, and schools can choose to offer SAT School Day any day during the October testing window. In the spring, they can choose any day throughout March and April. 
• Secure: Each student receives a unique, but comparable, set of questions, eliminating the most common security challenges

The Bluebook platform allows for flexible, consistent test delivery regardless of location. It can withstand intermittent disruptions in both internet and power—and includes other features that make testing easier for students and educators.  

In October 2023, Bluebook delivered the largest-ever digital test with nearly 1.25 million students testing on a single day—more than other tests that other organizations deliver in a single year. As of winter 2024, more than 10 million tests have been taken successfully. 

In a recent survey, two-thirds of students and nearly all educators said their experience with the digital SAT was good or excellent.

“It was easy to navigate. I like the digital SAT better because it's shorter and a little less stressful since you don't have to keep switching between materials when answering each question.”—Lindsay, student

Because College Board developed its own systems for digital testing, we have full control over the experience. That means no student information is shared back and forth with third parties during testing, and we’re able to work with our members and partners to prioritize their feedback and introduce improvements. 

ACT’s Digital Offering

ACT recently announced a new digital test. Rolling out in spring 2025, it will be fully available by spring 2026. This comes on the heels of ACT’s purchase by a private equity firm in April 2024, Nexus Capital Management, which significantly shifted ACT’s organizational focus. 

Currently, limited information is available about the scope of the transition. What we do know is that:

• ACT has only conducted a limited number of tech reliability and validity studies.
• ACT’s digital exam uses a linear form. ACT also removed over 40% of test content and made the science section optional to create a shorter test.
• Unlike like Bluebook, ACT’s platform requires a stable internet connection.
• ACT relies on third parties for test delivery.

Districts will need to evaluate the digital ACT’s ability to help them identify learning gaps, and colleges will need to assess the reliability and validity of the new exam for their admission purposes. 

For a visual snapshot, see Comparing the SAT and ACT.

Free Resources for All Students

To help reinforce the skills they’re learning in class while also preparing for test day, College Board offers a comprehensive set of free practice resources to all students. 

Created specifically for the digital SAT Suite of Assessments, these personalized resources range from practice tests in Bluebook to a student question bank and test prep courses from Khan Academy^®.

“The Khan Academy resources worked well, and I love College Board’s feature where you can see what you missed on practice and have explanations. I think the new update where it shows your skills in areas like algebra and advanced math help find what you need to improve on.”—Cesar, student

In addition, paper practice tests are available for students who will be testing with accommodations that require a paper format and/or for students who are just looking for additional sample questions.  

Currently, ACT does not have any practice resources available for their new digital offerings.

In addition to practice, College Board also provides every student with an evidence-based set of tools to make it easier for them to identify their strengths and navigate their path to postsecondary options.

Every student receives a Career Insights Snapshot with their SAT scores. The snapshot provides a list of growing careers across the state that are connected to students’ math and reading and writing skills. According to a fall 2024 national survey, 80% of students who viewed Career Insights Snapshot reported that they are committed to learning more about their abilities and interests. 

Students can use the new, free BigFuture School mobile app—designed specifically for in-school test takers—to view their scores, the Career Insights Snapshot, customized future-planning guidance, and messages from colleges. No student data is ever shared through BigFuture School; students decide if and when to share their information directly with the institutions they're interested in.

Innovations for Excellence

Our priority is serving students, families, and the more than 6,000 K–12 schools and colleges that make up our membership.

While the education landscape will continue to change, our mission remains the same. We’ll continue to evolve and enhance our programs to ensure they meet the full set of postsecondary pathways, including workforce, military, and two- and four-year colleges.