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来源: KEY | 专栏: KEY Education | 字体: 小 中 大
Should I take the SAT or ACT?
我应该选择SAT还是ACT？
By Richard J. Dalton Jr.
作者：Richard J. Dalton Jr.
Deciding which university entrance exam to take used to be simple: Where you lived was the main determining factor whether to take the SAT or ACT. Nowadays, students all over take either or both exams.
决定考哪个大学入学测试曾经很简单：考SAT 或ACT的决定因素取决于你住在哪里。现今学生可以选择考SAT 和ACT都考，或选择其中一个。
With the launch of the new SAT in March (in the United States and in May in Canada), students will be asking even more questions, as the changes are dramatic, starting with a return to a total score of 1600, the same total before the switch to 2400 in 2005. The new exam also has adopted some elements of the ACT, eliminating the so-called “guessing penalty,” having four sections, putting grammar questions in paragraph format, and making the essay optional. Furthermore, sentence completion questions are gone, along with many but not all difficult vocabulary words. Students will have slightly more time for each question, but one math section forbids the use of a calculator.
三月份刚推出的新SAT测试（美国是3月，加拿大是5月），学生会就其发生的很多变化问及许多问题。SAT由2005年总分调整为2400分制，到现在总分将回到之前的1600分制。 新测试采用了ACT测试的一些元素，如：去除所谓“猜题惩罚”，考试包含4个部分， 语法问题需要联系上下文段落，以及写作改为可选题。 此外，句子填充问题被去掉了，大部分艰深的词汇也被去掉了。 学生会稍微能多点时间回答每道题目，但计算器在数学部分是禁止使用的。
Universities remain test neutral. Princeton university spokesman Martin Mbugua said: “Students may submit whichever test they choose, or both.” Stanford university spokeswoman Lisa Lapin said: “We accept either test on equal footing.”
大学方面坚持测试中立的态度。普林斯顿大学发言人Martin Mbugua表示：“学生可以选择提交任何一个测试，或选择两个一起考。”斯坦福大学的发言人Lisa Lapin则说：“我们接受这两项测试，两者是一样的。”
The SAT had long been the most popular university-entrance exam. However, in 2012 more students took the ACT than took the SAT. Some of the changes to the SAT may have brought attention that there is an alternative, said ACT spokesman Ed Colby. In fact, at the last major overhaul for the SAT, in 2005, 40 percent of graduates took the ACT, a figure that grew to 59 percent this year.
长期以来SAT一直是大学入学测试最受欢迎的测试选项。然而在2012年，选择参加ACT测试的学生比参加SAT测试的要多 。ACT发言人Ed Colby表示，SAT测试的新变化让更多人意识到除此之外还有另一项可替代的考试。事实上，SAT上次在2005做出一个重大变革时有40％的毕业生参加了ACT测试，今年这个数据增加到59％。
The ACT has garnered a great deal of interest in the Vancouver area in the last year, but few test preparation companies were prepared for the challenge. Your Score Booster’s tutors and instructors are well-trained in the ACT’s curricular material as well as tips and tricks. The company offers one-on-one tutoring and classes (in-person or online), workbooks, customized quizzes and thousands of video solutions for both the SAT and ACT.
从去年开始，ACT测试在温哥华地区赢得了越来越多人的兴趣，但只有少数辅导机构准备好迎接挑战。Your Score Booster能提供训练有素的导师和老师。他们尤其对准备 ACT测试课程的资料以及提示和技巧非常熟悉。有一对一专门辅导和面对面/网上小班教学，他们将会为学生们提供专门针对SAT 和ACT测试的练习册，个性化测验和上千个视频教学方案。
Your Score Booster has been getting many more students seeking preparation for the ACT. So far, people are keeping a wait-and-see attitude about the new SAT, at least the March exam. In interviews with dozens counselors and educational consultants at National Association for College Admissions Counseling and in subsequent telephone interviews with other experts, Your Score Booster found no one who recommended taking the March SAT.
越来越多的学生已向Your Score Booster寻求帮助，为ACT测试做好准备 。到目前为止，人们对新SAT保持一个等待和观望的态度，起码是对即将到来的三月份测试。在和数十名辅导员和全国大学招生咨询协会的教育顾问交流并以电话采访的方式咨询了其他一些专家后， 我们发现没有人建议参加三月份的新SAT。
"Why pay for the privilege of being a guinea pig?" said Bob Schaeffer, public education director for Fairtest, a critic of standardized testing.
公立教育主任以及标准化测试评论家Bob Schaeffer表示，“为什幺要花钱去作试验小猪？”
Furthermore, the scores for the March exam and concordance tables equating scores to the old SAT scores won’t be released until May.
此外，3月的测试成绩和其相应的旧SAT得分成绩等分表要在五月份才发布。
Eric J. Furda, dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania, said the university accepts both the old and new SAT and the ACT equally. But he said students’ familiarity with the ACT would likely attract students to it in the near term.
宾夕法尼亚大学招生主任Eric J. Furda表示，他们会以平等的态度对待新旧SAT、ACT测试 。但他表示，近阶段学生们更为熟悉的ACT测试将更加热门 。
“I do think that during this transition you're going to see more students taking the ACT, which has already been on the rise,” he said. “Without getting caught up in the politics of it, I think that's going to be common-sense behavior” to take an exam that’s more familiar.
“我认为这个过渡过程中你会看到更多的学生参加ACT测试，上升现象也正在展现出来。”他说： “如果没有政策上的因素，我认为学生首选参加其熟悉的测试是一个很正常的行为。”
Test-preparation experts also note that College Board has released only four practice exams for the new SAT, while many more previously administered ACT exams are available.
备考专家还指出，美国大学委员会（College Board）现今只发布了四套新SAT模拟测试，而ACT测试有更多的模拟题可供参考。
But Cyndie Schmeiser, chief of assessment at College Board, which owns the SAT, said advising against taking the March SAT is “fear-based advice, which is not in the best interest of students…. We've done a lot of research to make sure that starting in March and moving forward that our tests are reflecting the best science in testing."
但是SAT的主考部门—大学委员会评估主任Cyndie Schmeiser表示，对 “针对对新SAT测试的恐惧而作出的建议，并不是从对学生的最佳利益出发。我们已经做了很多调查研究以确保三月开始的SAT测试将反映测试是最为科学的。”
Some are still undecided about future SAT exams. "With the new SAT, I'm going to have to wait and see,” said Dr. Whitney Laughlin, an educational consultant based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Victoria, British Columbia. "I think that's how a lot of people feel."
一些人对SAT测试未来的发展犹豫不决。“我不得不等待和观察新SAT的情况，我认为这也是多数人的想法。” 教育顾问Whitney Laughlin博士，后者是总部设在新墨西哥圣菲和不列颠哥伦比亚省维多利亚的教育顾问。
Others may recommend the new SAT – after the March exam – to some students. Sean Hawes, an educational consultant in Bellingham Washington, said the elimination of difficult vocabulary and extra time may be a draw for some students. Hawes also noted the SAT is required for students who apply for a National Merit Scholarship, sponsored by College Board.
其他人则推荐学生选择三月之后的新SAT 测试 。华盛顿州贝灵汉的教育顾问Sean Hawes认为降低词汇难度、缩短额外花费时间对部分学生来说影响不大。Hawes也指出对申请由美国大学委员会赞助的国家优秀学生奖学金的学生来说，SAT是必须的。
"Some students may eventually like the SAT better,” Hawes said. “The SAT may bounce back."
“最后可能有一些学生更倾向于SAT。” Hawes表示，“SAT可能会重新恢复往日的风采。”
However, the new SAT has infused reading throughout every section, even writing, math – word problems dominate the math section -- and the essay. The text also has become more complex, so it could be more difficult for students who speak English as a Second Language.
然而，新SAT对阅读的要求充斥每个考试环节，从书写，到词语问题主导的数学部分，乃至于写作。内容难度提高了，这对于以英语为第二语言的学生更加困难。
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