Standardized Testing
Wellesley High School is a test center for the August and March National Test Days, and October School Day for College Board (SAT) for seniors only. Registration bulletins and college testing booklets describing the testing programs listed below are available in the House offices.
*Wellesley is not a test center for the ACT administration*
ACT - AMERICAN COLLEGE TESTING - This assessment is used throughout the country by college and university admission offices. The ACT is curriculum based and includes tests related to high school content areas: English, mathematics, reading and science reasoning.
AP - ADVANCED PLACEMENT TESTS - Four-hour tests administered in May each year at Wellesley High School for students seeking advanced standing in college in certain subject areas. We host AP exams for students who are enrolled in the AP courses offered at WHS as well as AP English Literature, AP English Language & Composition, AP World History, AP Chinese for those enrolled in Chinese 4, 5 or in enrolled in the Wellesley Chinese Language school, and for those taking an AP course on-line through VHS at Wellesley High School. *If you are taking an AP course, preparatory class not offered at WHS, or are self-study it is not a guarantee you will be able to sit for the exam at WHS. It may require you to seek an alternative test site for administration.
PSAT/NMSQT - PSAT NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP QUALIFYING TEST - The PSAT is a practice test for the SAT Reasoning Test for students who are considering education after high school.
SAT Reasoning Test - Taken in the junior year and often taken again in the fall of the senior year, it is required for admission to many colleges. The SAT Reasoning is primarily a multiple-choice test designed to measure verbal and mathematical reasoning abilities.
Sophomore Year - We are pleased to administer the Pre-ACTs to all sophomores during the half-day in October.
Junior Year - The PSAT/NMSQT is administered to WHS juniors during a half-day in October. Test booklets and scores returned in December provide a study guide to assist students in their preparation for the SAT Reasoning Test in the spring. It is also the qualifying exam for the National Merit Scholarship Program.
The SAT Reasoning are usually taken in May and June of the junior year. Advanced Placement Exams are administered in May.
Senior Year - Seniors typically take the SAT Reasoning in October or November, often for the second time. Advanced Placement tests are administered in May. Students who wish to take the ACT in addition to or in lieu of the SAT Reasoning Tests, generally take it once, in either their junior or senior year.
For a more in depth overview of College Admissions testing, consider reading the following guide from Summit Educational Group.
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FREE Practice SATs and ACTs:
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PSAT/SAT/AP information at College Board-
*PSATs are administered at WHS in the fall. PSAT Registration Help
**See below for guide to interpreting PSAT Scores.
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SAT dates and registration deadlines
https://sat.collegeboard.org/register/sat-us-dates
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ACT Test Dates: http://www.actstudent.org/regist/dates.html
MCAS Testing Schedule for 10th Grade:
**As you plan for the year, please note the MCAS dates in the school calendar.
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Registration for AP exams takes place in the fall through the beginning of October. Please see Ms. North or Ms. Culver in the Main Office for details.
Standardized Testing Accommodations:
Your may be eligible to apply for accommodations on standardized testing through College Board (PSATs, SATs, and/or AP) or the ACT if you currently received accommodations through an IEP or 504 Plan or DCAP (District Curriculum Accommodation Plan) in school. The first part of this briefing discusses requests to College Board; the latter part describes how to apply for accommodations on the ACT. Consent forms for College Board and the ACT may be found below.
If you would like to be considered for accommodations on the PSATs, SATs, and/or AP exams, please complete, sign and return the College Board consent form to Jen Culver, SSD Coordinator, a minimum of 4 weeks prior to your test date. If the PSAT will be your first College Board test, it is offered in October. The March 1 deadline applies for this test as well. Indicating your earliest test date on the form (e.g. May, 2023) will help streamline the application process.
You may not need to take any of these exams. However, it is best to apply. The initial approval process can take up to seven weeks from the date of the application’s submission. Please note it takes up to two weeks for our office to complete the application. Submitting an application does not guarantee that the College Board will approve a student for accommodations.
Not all students with an IEP, 504 Plan or DCAP, or professional evaluation are eligible for testing accommodations through the College Board. To be eligible the student must:
have a disability that necessitates testing accommodations;
have documentation on file in school that supports the need for requested accommodations and meets the “Guidelines for Documentation”;
and regularly receive the requested accommodations, due to the disability, for school-based tests.
In summary, to be eligible for testing accommodations your must have the above documentation and actually be receiving the accommodations in school on a regular basis. For complete and up-to-date information on Student Services from the College Board, please visit http://www.collegeboard.com/ssd.
After the College Board reviews your request for accommodations, you will receive a notification from College Board (otherwise known as an “eligibility letter”) stating the results of the College Board’s review. If your request for accommodations is approved, please keep this eligibility letter in a safe place. It is essential to include a copy of this letter or your SSD number (found on the letter) with EACH subsequent SAT registration in the future. Please note that once you are approved for accommodations through College Board, there is no need to re-apply.
Please remember that it is your responsibility to register for each test within the prescribed deadlines regardless of the status of the accommodations application.
If you wish to request accommodations for the ACT, the parent consent form may be found here. A detailed description of eligibility criteria, including guidelines for documentation, is on the ACT website. Please read through the eligibility requirements, guidelines for documentation, and instructions.
A key difference in requesting accommodations on the ACT is that the student must be registered for a specific exam date before a request for accommodations can be submitted. It is your responsibility to meet the imposed deadlines. The completed student form must be sent in to Jen Culver, SSD Coordinator, three (3) weeks prior to registration deadline. The process needs to be started 2 months in advance of anticipated test date. Please refer to the website for exact deadlines and procedures. Please note that WHS does not provide school based accommodations following the July ACT Saturday administration. Students can seek alternative sites or plan their testing for June and/or September when school is in session.
If you have any questions about College Board or ACT accommodations, please feel free to contact me at culverj@wellesleyps.org.
Jen Culver, SSD Coordinator
November 2022 Letter to eligible students
PSAT Parent Tutorial 2018.pdf