As Dottie says, the ACT writing portion is optional for all students. It's shorter and, according to DS 13, who has taken it twice, much easier. No penalty for guessing. SAT requires the writing (which is first) and penalizes for wrong answers. Another important difference, as I understand it, is that SAT is a "reasoning" test (somewhat correlatable to IQ at a certain age). ACT is an "achievement" test.
It was interesting to see that my DS did not score too well (composite 26) on ACT in 7th grade, but after another year of "learning" including online math course, scored much better (composite 30). Meanwhile SAT score only went up 70 points in the same interval, which could just be improved comfort level and experience.
We'll see what DS 11 does--he'll also take ACT in Feb. He lacks confidence, so it makes me nervous, even though his IQ scores are in EG range. He thinks he's the least brilliant of the crew, though I don't agree (nor does early testing).
My DS 9 is probably the most talented, and will take EXPLORE in January (he's very excited). If he could just take the math portion of SAT, I would consider it, but he's too immature or wiggly or something to sit for the whole thing at this point. I don't want him to be soured by it. Besides, any program I'm considering for him for the next year or two would accept EXPLORE results. My DH thinks it would be crazy to send him to a summer program for 3 wks...would he maintain personal hygiene? "what's the hurry?" I'm trying to figure out if it would be a really great experience for him, or if I should wait.
One last comment is that you do enter the actual grade they're in. At first I thought that meant skipped kids were "penalized" because now they have to score higher to qualify for programs than if they weren't skipped. However, I keep thinking about what Ania said about how their classmates are older, not necessarily smarter.
