3 of 17

Standardized Testing Options

Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT)

Administered by CollegeBoard
For National Merit Scholarship Program: PSAT (also from CollegeBoard)
Subject SAT Tests have been completely cancelled

American College Testing (ACT)

Administered by a different organization, the ACT

The SAT is one of the standardized tests widely used for college admissions in the United States, the other being the ACT.

The SAT consists of two four sections:

Reading: this section is 65 minutes long and has 52 questions, giving you an average time of 1.25 min per question. In this section, passages are presented on which questions are asked. The types of passages on the SAT are U.S. and World Literature, History/Social Studies, and Science passages. These passages can also be accompanied by graphical representations of data such as charts, graphs, or tables. There are a total of 5 passages.
Writing and Language: this section is 35 minutes long with 44 questions, giving you an average of 47 seconds per question. It assesses your ability to revise and edit texts about a range of topics. There are a total of 4 of these texts, presented as passages on the exam.
Math (No Calculator): This section is 25 minutes long and has 20 questions, giving you an average time of 1.25 minutes per question. This section contains topics from algebra, geometry, and more. A calculator is NOT allowed on this section
Math (Calculator OK): this section is 55 minutes long and has 38 questions, giving you an average time of 1.4 minutes per question. A calculator is allowed on this test. The questions on this section deal with geometry, trigonometry, algebra, and more.

Source:https://www.c2educate.com/how-decide-between-act-sat/

4 of 17

The SAT

Widely used for college admissions

Taking the SAT or the ACT (on a future slide) is highly recommended

The SAT is one of the standardized tests widely used for college admissions in the United States, the other being the ACT.

The SAT consists of two four sections:

Reading: this section is 65 minutes long and has 52 questions, giving you an average time of 1.25 min per question. In this section, passages are presented on which questions are asked. The types of passages on the SAT are U.S. and World Literature, History/Social Studies, and Science passages. These passages can also be accompanied by graphical representations of data such as charts, graphs, or tables. There are a total of 5 passages.
Writing and Language: this section is 35 minutes long with 44 questions, giving you an average of 47 seconds per question. It assesses your ability to revise and edit texts about a range of topics. There are a total of 4 of these texts, presented as passages on the exam.
Math (No Calculator): This section is 25 minutes long and has 20 questions, giving you an average time of 1.25 minutes per question. This section contains topics from algebra, geometry, and more. A calculator is NOT allowed on this section
Math (Calculator OK): this section is 55 minutes long and has 38 questions, giving you an average time of 1.4 minutes per question. A calculator is allowed on this test. The questions on this section deal with geometry, trigonometry, algebra, and more.

Source:https://www.c2educate.com/how-decide-between-act-sat/

5 of 17

The PSAT

Shorter version of the SAT, used for practice or scholarships
PSAT can be taken from 8th to 12th grade and is only offered at school
Scoring scale: 320-1520

NMSQT

National Merit Scholarship Program allows Juniors to attain scholarships
Only Junior test will count, other grade does not
Multi-staged process where after the test is taken, students have to submit transcripts and essays if they qualify as a finalist
More info on the NMSQT program: https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/interior.aspx?sid=1758&gid=2&pgid=424

6 of 17

The ACT

Another standardized test that is viewed equivalently to the SAT

	Time (in min)	# of questions
English	45	75
Math	60	60
Reading	35	40
Science	35	40
Writing (Optional)	40	1 essay
TOTAL	175 minutes (215 with writing)	215 questions + optional essay

7 of 17

https://www.princetonreview.com/college/sat-act	SAT	ACT
Why Take It	Used for admissions and merit-based scholarships	Used for admissions and merit-based scholarships
Test Structure	Reading → Writing → Math → Essay (Optional)	English → Math → Reading → Science → Essay (Optional)
Length	3 hours (w/o essay) 3 hours, 50 minutes (with essay)	2 hours, 55 minutes (w/o essay) 3 hours, 40 minutes (with essay)
Science	None	1 section testing critical thinking, not specific science knowledge
Math	Arithmetic, Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry, Trigonometry and Data Analysis	Arithmetic, Algebra I & II, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Probability & Statistics
Calculator	Allowed on 1 of the 2 math sections	Allowed on all math questions
Essay	Comprehension of source	Evaluate + analyze complex issues
Scoring	Scale of 400 - 1600	Scale of 1-36

8 of 17

Deciding Between The SAT & The ACT

The best way to decide whether you are best suited to take the SAT or ACT is to take a mock test of each in your free time
Based on which one you feel more comfortable taking, you can decide

For example, it is commonly known that the ACT is a faster-paced test than the SAT but there are less comprehension-based questions and more difficult math questions

These interpretations can change based on the student
While some students will prefer a faster-paced test, others may not
Some may be more comfortable with comprehension questions; some may be more skilled at math

A benefit of taking the SAT is that you will be automatically prepared for the PSAT in 11th grade

9 of 17

When Is It A Good Time To Study for Standardized Tests?

	Advantages	Disadvantages
9th Grade Summer	- alleviates stress and workload in junior year - allows the student to focus on other extracurriculars in 10th and 11th grade summer	- some colleges, such as CMU, do not accept SAT scores taken before the summer of 10th grade
10th Grade Summer	- student may be more comfortable with the test itself (math concepts and reading passages)	- if the student is taking several AP courses in junior year, it can get really difficult juggling academics, standardized testing, and extracurriculars

The final decision also depends on the student. If the student will not have a rigorous academic schedule in 11th grade, he or she can study for the SAT in 10th grade summer. If the student will have a rigorous schedule then and also feels somewhat comfortable with the tested concepts, the student can consider studying in freshman year summer itself and take the test immediately afterwards.

10 of 17

What is Considered a Good Score? (Carnegie Mellon)

Statistics from https://admission.enrollment.cmu.edu/pages/undergraduate-admission-statistics

Represents the middle 50% range

11 of 17

What is Considered a Good Score? (UC Berkeley)

Statistics from

https://admissions.berkeley.edu/student-profile

12 of 17

Test-Free Vs. Test-Optional

Test-optional colleges permit students to submit either their SAT or ACT scores, and the college will consider the score if submitted

If two students are seen equally excluding test scores by a college, the student with a higher test score will have an upper hand in this case

Test-free colleges will not consider SAT or ACT scores at all

No matter how high or low the score is, the college will not care

You should do your best to take standardized testing unless you are only applying to test-free colleges, which is an unlikely scenario

13 of 17

Effects of COVID-19 on Standardized Testing.

COVID-19 has greatly affected standardized testing.

Many standardized testing centers have closed disrupting thousands of student’s testing plans

What are somethings that have changed in the past year? What are colleges shifting towards?

More than half of all four-year colleges and universities to drop their mandate for a standardized test score, at least for the current application cycle.

California State University system, the entire Ivy League and other prominent private institutions like Duke, Amherst, Stanford and Williams, all have waived testing requirements for applicants. Many colleges are shifting towards the test optional method.

Essay from SAT is removed after June 2021

14 of 17

Effects of COVID-19 on Standardized Testing.

College Board announced on 1/19/2021 that SAT Subject Tests will never again be administered
UC announced that they will be test-free starting from the Fall 2021 admissions

Now that the UC System has decided to abandon the SAT and ACT, admissions officers may look into academics and extracurriculars more

SAT UPDATES

The current calendar of upcoming SATs is:

Saturday, March 13
Saturday, May 8
Saturday, June 5
Rather than canceling an entire test date as it did in May and June 2020, the College Board plans to let upcoming test cancelations occur by location, so please monitor the status of your test site regularly. Some host sites have already posted upcoming cancelations.

15 of 17

UC System’s Testing Policy

Class	Test-Blind or Test-Optional?
2021	Test-Free
2022	Test-Free
2023	Test-Free
2024	Test-Free
2025 and after	UC will eliminate SAT/ACT requirement and may develop its own test

For other state and private universities, the best way to find out if the college is test-blind or test-optional is to go to their website and do a bit of research there.

16 of 17

ACT Updates

Upcoming ACT Test Dates

Saturday, April 17
Saturday, June 12
Saturday, July 17
Previously announced plans to restarting section retests have been postponed indefinitely or until further notice.
ACT plans on launching a remote (at-home) online test soon.

Note for SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment of California)�U.S Department of Education that testing would again be required, the board voted to shorten this year’s SBAC exams in math and English.

The SBAC exam is for 3rd to 8th graders and is given out once again in 11th grade

��

17 of 17

Summary

The options for standardized testing are the SAT & ACT
The Subject SAT has been cancelled
When to take standardized testing depends on the student’s ability

Recommended is 9th grade summer onwards

UC’s are test-free from Class of 2021 to Class of 2024

They may create their own test for Class of 2025 and onwards
More updates will be given out on their website

Refer to individual college websites for the 50% range SAT/ACT scores to know more about what that college considers a good score

It is your choice if you’d like to take a standardized test

The SAT is one of the standardized tests widely used for college admissions in the United States, the other being the ACT.

The SAT consists of two four sections:

Reading: this section is 65 minutes long and has 52 questions, giving you an average time of 1.25 min per question. In this section, passages are presented on which questions are asked. The types of passages on the SAT are U.S. and World Literature, History/Social Studies, and Science passages. These passages can also be accompanied by graphical representations of data such as charts, graphs, or tables. There are a total of 5 passages.
Writing and Language: this section is 35 minutes long with 44 questions, giving you an average of 47 seconds per question. It assesses your ability to revise and edit texts about a range of topics. There are a total of 4 of these texts, presented as passages on the exam.
Math (No Calculator): This section is 25 minutes long and has 20 questions, giving you an average time of 1.25 minutes per question. This section contains topics from algebra, geometry, and more. A calculator is NOT allowed on this section
Math (Calculator OK): this section is 55 minutes long and has 38 questions, giving you an average time of 1.4 minutes per question. A calculator is allowed on this test. The questions on this section deal with geometry, trigonometry, algebra, and more.

Source:https://www.c2educate.com/how-decide-between-act-sat/