Student Testing - including SAT/ACT

• Advanced Placement (AP) tests are offered to high school students through the College Board. Students will be able to earn college credit and/or course equivalencies with a sufficient score on an AP exam. High school students take AP classes to prepare for the exams, as well as to earn high school credit.

• SAT/ACT - (Frequently Asked Questions)

Which test do I take?

You should find out which admissions test or tests the schools you are interested in require, then register for those tests. You can get information about college entrance requirements from high school guidance counselors and college admissions representatives.

Most colleges accept the ACT or SAT

SAT or ACT? Do you know which test is right for you?

Colleges accept both tests equally, so the choice is up to you! The ACT and SAT generally test the same types of content. The biggest differences are that the ACT has a Science Test and the SAT has one Math section for which you cannot use a calculator.

Here's what you need to know to compare the exams.

When do I take it? 

Students usually take the PSAT during their sophomore and junior years to prepare for the SAT and ACT. Students usually take the SAT and ACT during their junior year or senior year or both. Consider taking the SAT or ACT near the end of your junior year, then you will have time to take the test again - and even a third time - to improve your score and still meet college admissions and scholarship deadlines. By taking the test a second time, you might raise your score.

How do I register? 

Registering for the SAT:

• create an account on CollegeBoard.org: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat?affiliateId=cbhomeexp&bannerId=sat

Registering for the ACT:  

create an account on ACT.org: http://act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/registration-information.html

please keep in mind that it can take about 30 minutes.

Register for admissions tests early because late registration fees can be expensive, and the test site may be full. You also want to take the tests in time to meet college admissions and scholarship deadlines.

How do I prepare? 

Practice books and online practice tests are available.  

The NEW SAT Practice Test: https://www.khanacademy.org/sat

What is a good SAT score on the SAT exam? For the 2019-20 admissions year, the exam consists of two required sections: Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, and Mathematics. There is also an optional essay section. The scores from each required section can range from 200 to 800, so the best possible total score without the essay is 1600.

Average SAT Scores

There are different ways to calculate what an "average" score is for the SAT.

For the Evidence-Based Reading section, the College Board predicts that if all high school students took the exam, the average score would be a little over 500. For college-bound students who typically take the SAT, that average goes up to about 540. This latter number is probably the more meaningful one since it is the average among the students you are competing with on the college admissions front.

For the Math section of the exam, the average score for all high school students is very similar to the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section—a little over 500. For college-bound students who are likely to take the SAT, the average Math score is a little over 530. Here again that latter number is probably the more meaningful one since you would want to compare your score to other college-bound students.

Note that the exam changed significantly in March of 2016, and the average scores are a little higher today than they had been before 2016.

What's Considered a Good SAT Score?

Averages, however, don't really tell you what kind of score you're going to need for selective colleges and universities. After all, every student who gets into a school like Stanford or Amherst is going to be well above average. The table below can give you a sense of the typical score ranges for students who were admitted to different types of highly selective colleges and universities.

Keep in mind that the table shows the middle 50% of matriculated students. 25% of students got below the lower number, and 25% scored higher than the upper number.

You're obviously in a stronger position if your scores are in the upper ranges in the tables below. Students in the lower 25% of the score range are going to need other strengths to make their applications stand out. Also keep in mind that being in the top 25% does not guarantee admission. Highly selective colleges and universities reject students with near perfect SAT scores when other parts of the application fail to impress the admissions folks.

In general, a combined SAT score of roughly 1400 will make you competitive at nearly any college or university in the country. The definition of a "good" score, however, is entirely dependent upon what schools you're applying to. There are hundreds of test-optional colleges where SAT scores don't matter, and hundreds of other schools where average scores (roughly 1050 Reading + Math) will be perfectly adequate for receiving an acceptance letter.