In Scotch Plains – Fanwood High School, students in their sophomore year take the PSAT for the first time. Many in their junior year face a choice: the ACT or the SAT. 

For those who do choose to take it, beware, the tests are lengthy. According to Prep Scholar, the 36-point ACT features 215 questions with two hours and 55 minutes to complete. There is also an optional essay portion that takes an additional 40 minutes.
The SAT, meanwhile, is out of 1600 points. It features 154 questions students must answer within three hours. There is no science section, instead, science is incorporated in. There is also a 50-minute optional essay portion. 
These tests are important for high school students. Despite them being critical for a student to find a good college, many still struggle to prepare for them.  
According to a survey taken by 93 students, when asked if their school has prepared them for the tests on a scale of one to ten — one being the school did not prepare them at all and ten being that the school did prepare them —  51 students were in-between one and five. 88% of survey-takers believed that on a scale of one to ten — one being simple, ten being extremely difficult — the SAT/ACT was at least five. 
Students often spend months, even years, preparing for these standardized tests. There is an emphasis on standardized testing. 
“It sorta feels like everything we do in high school leads up to this and it’s very important. Everyone always stresses about this most of high school,” survey-taker Emily Muench said. 
Despite all the talk in high school over the SAT and ACT, many students do not believe these tests are helpful in preparing students for their futures. 
“I believe that they are not good predictors of your future, and you can be successful even without a good score,” survey-taker Jacob Hopkins said. 
Hopkins is not alone. There is controversy surrounding the accuracy and fairness of the tests. Colleges are beginning to realize how a student’s score on a standardized test is not the greatest indicator of their future, successes, which is in part why they are slowly placing less emphasis on SAT/ACT scores.