College Testing

New Hope-Solebury High School Guidance Office

PSAT

The PSAT is a practice version of the SAT. The PSAT is a great tool for our students the school district administers this test to all 10th and 11th graders

during the school day. It is only offered in October.

!   Wednesday, October 16, 2013

!   Same as SAT minus essay

!   Measures critical thinking and reasoning skills

!   Results in December

!   10th graders—just practice!

!   11th graders—practice and National Merit Qualifying

SAT

Students should plan a timeline according to their individual needs. Most students will take the SAT’s for the first time in January or March of their junior year.

!   3 sections: Math, Critical Reading, Writing

!   Writing section is not optional

!   Offered 7 times throughout the year: Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, March, May, June

Structure of SAT: 10 sections ( 3 hr. 45 min)

!   One 25 minute Essay section (The essay question always comes first)

!   Two 25 minute Math sections

!   Two 25 minute Critical Reading sections

!   One 25 minute multiple choice Writing section

!   One 20 minute Math section

!   One 20 minute Critical Reading section

!   One additional 25 minute section of Math, CR, or Writing (unscored “variable” section)

!   One 10 minute multiple choice writing section

How is the SAT scored? !   A raw score between 200 and 800 is given for each

section category: Reading, Writing and Math.

!   Class of 2012 National Average scores are:

Critical reading:496

Mathematics: 514

Writing: 488

Total score mean = 1498

SAT Registration

!   SAT is offered at near by high schools

!   CEEB CODE: 392950

!   4 free score reports

! www.collegeboard.com

!   For information on Services for Students with Disabilities visit: http://www.collegeboard.com/ssd/student/index.html

SAT Subject Tests

SAT Subject tests are hour long subject-specific tests that are required by approximately 35 colleges throughout the country. Students can take up to 3 subject tests on one test date.

!   Who- students applying to top tier colleges that require them.

!   When- Typically May or June are most appropriate in the same academic year as you complete the AP Course.

!   How many—most schools require 2, but there are a small number of schools that require 3.

!   Which tests- If you are in an AP class, you may want to consider taking the subject test in that subject if offered. For language tests, talk to your teacher for guidance. If you are in Honors level courses, you can still do very well on subject tests but will need to block out additional time for preparation. Our students tend to do well in Math, US History, and languages.

!   How are they used? College Admissions and placement

SAT Subject Tests !   Literature

!   United States History

!   World History

!   Math 1- Alg 2 and Geom

!   Math 2- Pre-calc/Trig

!   Biology

!   Chemistry

!   Physics

!   Chinese

!   French

!   German

!   Hebrew (reading only)

!   Italian (reading only)

!   Japanese

!   Korean

!   Latin (reading only)

!   Spanish

Super Score & Score Choice

!   Score Choice option- Report scores by selecting the date (not by section)

!   Super Scoring- The college will pulsl out the students highest scores for each section over the course of their testing .

!   Subject Tests

!  Select by subject test

ACT

ACT measures academic achievement

It is growing in popularity and today, about 17% of PA students take the ACT.

The ACT w/ Writing can be used in lieu of the SAT and SAT Subject tests at most colleges. If you are applying to a college that uses the writing section of the SAT in their admissions decision, you must also take the Writing section of the ACT. If you’re not sure, err on the side of taking the writing portion of the ACT.

Offered 6 times- Sept, Oct, Dec, Feb, April, June (offered at area high schools)

Students with accommodations: Work through your counselor. Must REGISTER for test first, and then mail in accommodations request paperwork.

How is the ACT is structured?

Four tests and one optional Essay test English

75 multiple choice questions 45 minute test

Math 60 multiple choice questions 60 minute test Emphasis on Geometry with some Algebra and Trigonometry

Reading 40 multiple choice questions 35 minute test

Science 40 multiple choice questions 35 minute test Questions based on science-based passages

Writing 1 optional essay 30 minute test

How is the ACT scored?

!   Student may earn 1 to 36 on each test

!   ACT composite score is the average of the 3 tests (does not include writing).

!   The national average is 21.1.

You will see sub scores between 1-18 in some tests, these just provide you with more detail about your performance. They are not used by colleges or universities.

Score Comparisons- SAT/ACT

SAT Composite Percentile ACT Composite

2200-2400 99 32-36

1730 75 24

1490 48 20

1370 33 18

SAT vs. ACT?

²  SAT has a stronger emphasis on vocabulary. ²  ACT has a science section; SAT does not. ²  ACT tests more advanced math concepts. It includes geometry, algebra and requires you to

know a little more trigonometry. ²  The SAT focuses on geometry and algebra. ²  ACT Writing is “optional.” ²  The ACT is more of a “big picture” exam. ²  College admissions counselors are looking at your individual section scores of the SAT. With

the ACT, they are most concerned with your composite score. While you may not do as well in one content area but could still end up with a very strong overall score.

²  On the ACT, you tackle each content area in one big chunk. ²  On the SAT, the content areas are broken into 10 subsections with the required essay at the

beginning. You jump around from subject area to subject area. ²  ACT is not testing your fact-based knowledge of science rather, your reading and reasoning

skills are being tested based upon a given set of facts such as graphs, charts, passages, etc. ²  If you are an avid reader and have a strong vocabulary, you may prefer the SAT.

Registration Considerations

!   Midterm & Final Exams

!   AP Exams

!   Anticipate other busy times of the year when creating your testing timeline.

If you plan to continue testing in your senior year, consider how early in the fall you plan to submit your applications. September

and October test dates are almost always okay, but November and December test dates may be too late depending on your

application submission timeline.

AP Exams !   Register in March

!   Tests occur during the first two weeks of May.

!   Be sure to use the same name and SS#

!   Classroom teacher will provide details

!   AP Exam scores may help with admissions and earn credit/advanced standing

!   Students with AP accommodations—get the same accommodations as for PSAT/SAT

Testing Preparation !   SAT/ACT

!   Study independently

!   Prep Courses

!   Online resources

!   Individual tutors

!   Subject Tests/AP

!   Study! Corresponding NHS Honors and/or AP courses

!   FREE SAT/ACT Prep:

www.mystudentedge.com (SAT & ACT)

www.ineedapencil.com (SAT0

!   Resources

www.collegeboard.com

www.actstudent.org

www.fairtest.org

Testing Preparation

National Center for Fair and Open

Testing/ Test Optional Choices

!   Hundreds of schools no longer require standardized testing

!   Primarily liberal arts colleges including some selective ones

!   Usually need to provide a writing sample or alternative submission

!   There may be exceptions

! www.fairtest.org

THANK YOU!