Collegiate Eligibility Initiatives - College Sports Eligibility 101: Taking the SAT or ACT

All high school student-athletes who desire to participate in college

sports

on the Division I or II level must take either the SAT or ACT.

The scores

they present must be taken on a national testing day (except

for those

with a diagnosed learning disability, see below).

The question for many high school student-athletes is whether to take

the

SAT or the ACT. It depends on the region of the country, and the

comfort level with various academic skills. Here are some of the key

differences.

It should be noted that the Eligibility Center does not use the writing

sections of either test. Thus, for the SAT, only the math and critical

reading sections are used. For the ACT, the reading English, math and

science sections will be used. Further, the Eligibility Center uses the

best

sub score each time either test is taken. For example, a high

school

student-athlete takes the SAT on a national testing day in

January, scores

500 on the critical reading section and scores 400 on

the math section.

The high school student-athlete then takes the SAT

on a national testing

day later in the year in May and scores 400 on the

critical reading section

and scores 500 on the math section. The SAT

sum score for the student

is 1000. The Eligibility Center takes the

score of 500 received on the

critical reading section in January and the

score of 500 received on the

math section in May.

Additionally, for the ACT the Eligibility Center uses a sum score instead

of a composite score. Thus a high school student-athlete who receives

score of 20 on the English, 20 on the math, 20 on the reading and 20

the science, would have a sum score of 80 according to the Eligibility

Center.

Please note that all test scores must be reported directly to the

Eligibility Center. When high school student-athletes register for either

test, they must enter the code “9999” when asked where scores are to

be reported. This will ensure that the test scores are reported to the

Eligibility Center.

Students with disabilities may receive accommodations and take the

test

on a date that is not a designated testing date provided the proper

documentation is on file with the respective testing agencies and the

requirements of the respective testing agencies are met.

ACT - Remaining Dates for 2007-08 Academic Year

Sources: Kaplan Online - SAT vs. ACT 10/12/04 and NCAA 2007-08 Guide for the College Bound Student-Athlete

Taking the ACT
or the SAT

Should high school student-athletes take the ACT or the SAT?

Quiz Question #5

True or False - A

high school student-

athlete can have his or her SAT or

Eligibility Center on the high school

transcript.

rue

alse

ACT	SAT
Science reasoning section	No science section
Math section includes trigonometry	No trigonometry
English section emphasizes grammar, punctuation and organization. Reading section emphasizes comprehension	Critical Reading section emphasizes vocabulary and reading comprehension
Eligibility Center counts four sections: English, Math, Reading and Science	Eligibility Center counts two sections: Critical Reading and Math

Test Score Reporting

Students with Disabilities

National Testing Date Information

Fees:

$30 if student registers by the registration deadline. Additional

fees apply for later registration, writing test and score reports beyond

reporting to fourth college. Please go to the ACT website (www.

actstudent.org) for information on test preparation, fee waivers, testing

centers and registration.

National Testing Date	Registration Deadline	Late Registration
February 9, 2008	January 4, 2008	January 5-18
April 12, 2008	March 7, 2008	March 8-21
June 14, 2008	May 9, 2008	May 10-23

SAT - Remaining Dates for 2007-08 Academic Year

National Testing Date	Registration Deadline	Late Registration
March 1, 2008	January 29, 2008	February 7
May 3, 2008	April 1, 2008	April 10
June 7, 2008	May 6, 2008	May 15

Fees:

$43 if register by deadline. Additional fees apply for later

registration, writing test and score reports beyond reporting to fourth

college. Please go to the ACT website (www.collegeboard.com) for

information on test preparation, fee waivers, testing centers and

registration.