The makers of the SAT and ACT both offer specific times when students can see the questions and correct answers for the tests they took on National Test Dates. We recommend that you take advantage of this option when it’s available to you, and be aware that:
- The questions and answers are only available for the October SAT, March SAT, May SAT, and the December ACT, April ACT, and June ACT.
- You must pay a fee for this service.
- You have to order these “products” as part of your registration for the test or within the pre-defined window of time following the test date. These deadlines are specified by the testing companies on their websites.
The College Board Question and Answer Service, or QAS, is the product for the SAT that provides the most valuable information. The SAT QAS service is delivered online along with your score report. The ACT Test Information Release Service, or TIR, is also released online with your score report. Each of these valuable tools gives students additional insight into their performance, especially if they plan on retaking the test before college application time.
As part of a test prep program, students can rework all of the questions they answered incorrectly on the test. Although this is an added expense, we encourage students whose testing plans include these dates to take advantage of the QAS or TIR service.
NOTE: The College Board also offers the Student Answer Service (SAS), which is not as helpful because you don’t get to see the actual questions and correct answers.
The chart below compares the offerings from the College Board and ACT.[
