Back in the day, only the ACT provided a FREE downloadable guidebook with a full-length practice test and test prep tips. The SAT did not provide much in the way of free resources.
The tides changed when the College Board redesigned the SAT in 2016. Upon launching a new test format, the College Board also launched a partnership with Khan Academy to create an entirely new and FREE test prep platform with FREE full-length practice tests and tons of study resources.
Now the ACT has pushed to be king of the free resource hill with the recently launched ACT Academy, a FREE online platform full of practice tests, test prep tips and more.
With so many free resources available, this is a glorious time to be prepping for the SAT and ACT.
I am hopeful that free resources will even the playing field. Test scores on standardized tests have historically shown that students who have access to resources will outperform students who don’t have resources. Put differently, standardized tests are biased towards those students who had the money to buy guide books, the time to take practice tests or the resources to hire tutors.
Free resources may not completely remove this bias, but they are a good start.
If you need help navigating the resources for the SAT or ACT, contact CROSSWALK today. We offer free resources too, like this this blog, as well as financial assistance or pro bono work for many of our programs.