Paper SAT vs Digital SAT vs ACT: How We’re Handling Testing Options for the Class of 2025
/Students in the high school class of 2025 will have three testing options during their junior year:
The ACT
The current Paper SAT (last offered December 2023)
The new Digital SAT (first offered March 2024)
How are students and parents to navigate these 3 options? The first step is no different than it’s always been: start with diagnostic tests. Taking a full-length proctored practice SAT and a full-length proctored ACT is the best way to establish a baseline, identify aptitude for the skills required for each test, and ultimately determine which test a student has potential to score highest on.
Below we’ll lay out the pros and cons of each SAT and ACT testing option during the 2023-24 school year. Want the quick version? Skip straight to the flowchart at the bottom of the page!
1) ACT: The ideal testing option in 2023-24
Why is the ACT the best option?
It’s Not Changing: Students can take the ACT all year long on whatever timeline works best for them. They can take the ACT as many times as they need.
Familiarity: The ACT hasn’t changed significantly in many years, meaning we know exactly what to expect from it, and can instruct students using that wealth of knowledge.
Score Improvement: Our ACT students have always improved their scores slightly more than our SAT students.
Accepted Everywhere: Not familiar with the ACT? Trust us on this—every U.S. college that accepts the SAT also accepts the ACT, with no preference between the two tests.
BUT the ACT isn’t for everyone—that’s why we do diagnostic tests. Students who might not be a good fit for the ACT:
Slower workers: The ACT is an extremely fast test. It crams a lot of questions into very short time limits. Many students are unable to finish the ACT within the time limits. These students should consider the SAT.
Other situations: Sometimes, for more complex reasons than just speed, a student’s strengths and weaknesses align better with the SAT than the ACT. We closely analyze each student’s diagnostic test results to identify when this is the case.
2) Paper SAT: The next best testing option in 2023-24
Why is the paper SAT the next best option?
Familiarity: The SAT hasn’t changed significantly in seven years, meaning we know exactly what to expect from it, and can instruct students using that wealth of knowledge.
Score Improvement: Our SAT students have a track record of making significant score improvements. Recently, now that the current SAT is no longer ‘new’ (it was overhauled in 2016), we’ve been able to apply several years of knowledge about the current SAT to help students improve even more than our listed averages.
BUT taking the paper SAT in the fall isn’t for everyone. Students who might not be ready to take the SAT in the fall:
Not Ready to Maximize Potential: We’ve always adhered to the philosophy that students should only take the SAT or ACT when they’re ready to achieve the highest score they’re capable of. It seems like common sense, right? Take the test when you’re ready to get your best score? But it can be complex: this article explores the typical test timelines for different types of students. Notably, students who are only taking Algebra 2 or Geometry in 11th grade will almost always be best served by waiting until spring of 11th grade to take the SAT or ACT. Students coming in with significant deficiencies in either math or verbal will benefit from learning more throughout junior year and targeting a spring test.
3) Digital SAT
Why it’s still a great option
Shorter Passages: Both the ACT and current paper SAT include long reading passages (70+ lines), followed by a set of comprehension questions. By contrast, the Digital SAT will contain only short passages (one paragraph at most), each followed by a question.
Shorter Test: The Digital SAT is only a 2-hour test, as opposed to the Paper SAT or ACT, which each clock in just over 3 hours. The Digital SAT will be able to gather sufficient information on students in just two hours because it is section adaptive.
Digital Experience: The College Board has run several pilots of the Digital SAT in the US and has been offering the Digital SAT internationally since March 2023. So far, students have mostly positive feedback about the digital testing experience.
Score Legitimacy: You can be confident that Digital SAT scores will be valid and accurate and viewed by colleges as such. The College Board has done a ton of statistical analysis to ensure that the Digital SAT evaluates student ability as accurately as the Paper SAT has for years. Adaptive tests are well-established—the GRE, GMAT, Accuplacer, and many other tests are digital adaptive tests.
The downsides of the Digital SAT
Limited Information: The Digital SAT is new. When we have years to study and analyze a test, we get to know it like our favorite spot on the couch. With years to constantly refine our pedagogy, we’re able to translate our expertise into student improvement. With a newer test, we learn absolutely everything we can and work hard to develop best practices and strategies, but students miss out on those years of pedagogical refining. When SAT was overhauled in 2016, it took a year or so before the testing material became more consistent and the patterns and nuances solidified. It’s our expertise with those patterns and nuances that allow us to target the preparation process and help students master the years of material that SAT and ACT include in just a few dozen hours.
Possible Technical Difficulties: Between Digital SAT pilot programs and the Digital PSAT and international Digital SAT offerings (which started in March 2023), the College Board has had plenty of practice with the Digital SAT, plenty of changes to work out any technological kinks or glitches. But still, with any computerized test, there’s always the chance of tech issues, especially when students are responsible for bringing in their own devices.
UPDATE OCT 2023: The PSAT ran into a myriad of technological issues across the country. Many districts had to cancel, then reschedule, then were delayed again. This is not a great sign for the digital SAT (especially the first administration in March) going off without any technical difficulties or delays.
Punitive Scoring Scale: Adaptive scoring can really punish high scoring students who make careless mistakes (practice tests showed as much as -40 points for one missed question). Any strong math (or verbal) student shooting for a section score in the high 700s might want to consider alternative options.
Potentially Deceptive Difficulty Level (ADDED OCT 2023): Early reports from international administrations of the digital SAT (which began March 2023) are that the actual SAT content was significantly more challenging than the practice SAT material. Reports from the PSAT are that most students found it to be relatively easy. This opens up the possibility that the actual digital SAT given in March or May is significantly more challenging than students expect it to be based on the PSAT and practice SATs. This is all speculation, of course, but whenever a new test is rolled out, things are unpredictable (see Limited Information above). We don’t want our students to be in for a rude awakening with the digital SAT, so we STRONGLY RECOMMEND ALL STUDENTS TRY A DIAGNOSTIC ACT. If there is any year to take the ACT, it’s 2023-24.
How to Get Started
The first step is diagnostic tests. Which diagnostic SAT we give (paper or digital) will depend on timeline, but all students should begin with diagnostic tests.
For the quick version, check out the flowchart below!