National Trends Show More Students Taking ACT Over SAT

The ACT  tests have started to win a national popularity test. According to a blog on the Washington Post, it has overtaken the SAT as the most popular college admissions exam in the United States.

A report information from FairTest showed that in 2012, the ACT has finally surpassed the more traditional SAT exams.

2011: 1,623,112 took the ACT; 1,647,123* took the SAT

2012: 1,666,017 took the ACT; 1,664,479* took the SAT

(* Once it saw that the number of ACT-takers had grown larger, based on a historically consistent measure, the College Board revised the 2010 SAT total upward by including more exam administrations, a practice it continued in 2011 and 2012.)

However, in the Perkiomen Valley School District (PVSD), the SAT exams are still the dominant test.

In 2010, students in PVSD took far more SAT exams than ACT exams. According to reports from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, in 2010, 256 students took the SATs, while only 86 took the ACT exam.

In 2011, just one school year later, the report shows that 311 PVSD students took the SATs, while only 123 took ACT.

While the ACT exams are tracking upward, the number is nowhere near surpassing the SAT figures, as they did nationally.

According to the Washington Post blog, the number of students taking the ACT have increased because the ACT is thought to be a more consumer-friendly exam by students, and the ACT has marketed the test as something that will encourage more teens to consider college.

The entire blog is available here.