Testing Information
Testing information
For many postsecondary pathways, applicants must take some sort of test. Depending on your postsecondary option, this test may:
Assess your interests, your skills, and your desire to perform in a certain job function or role
Assess the knowledge that you've gained over the course of your educational career
Determine if you're ready to take higher level courses and place you in those courses
Testing Date & Score reports
All 11th grade students and 12th grade students that have not previously taken the ACT, have the option of taking the exam for free on April 23rd at Osseo Area Learning Center. Registration prior to the testing date is required to take the exam. Registration information will be shared with all eligible students in March.
Students can access their ACT score reports by logging into their MyACT account.
If students have already taken the free ACT exam provided by the school, but they would like to retake the exam, then they can register on ACT.org. The testing and registration dates are listed below.
Tests for 4 year college: act & sat
The ACT and SAT are known as college entrance exams because they evaluate students who are interested in going to college.
All 4-year colleges and universities in the US will accept either ACT or SAT scores. Most 2 year schools, meanwhile, do not require students to take the ACT or SAT, but some will look at students' scores to determine course placement.
Here is a comparison tool to learn about the difference between the exams.
ACT
Visit the official ACT website here
The ACT is taken across 4 primary subject areas, with an optional Writing portion.
NOTE: Even though the writing portion is optional, we strongly recommend taking the Writing portion of the exam if you have chosen to test, especially if it is your first time testing.
In order, the subject areas are:
English - 75 multiple choice questions
Math - 60 multiple choice questions
Reading - 40 multiple choice questions
Science - 40 multiple choice questions
Writing (optional)
Total score range: 1-36
Each section uses a scale of 1-36. Your total score is the average of your four section scores. The optional Writing section uses a scale of 2-12 and does not count toward your final score
The ACT is a total of 3 hours and 35 mins with the Writing. Breakdown of times for each subject area:
English: 45 mins
Math: 60 mins
Reading: 35 mins
Science: 35 mins
Writing (optional): 40 mins
SAT
Visit the official SAT website here
The SAT is taken across 3 primary subject areas, with an optional Essay portion.
NOTE: Even though the writing portion is optional, we strongly recommend taking the Writing portion of the exam if you have chosen to test, especially if it is your first time testing.
The SAT differs from the ACT in having two math sections, one with a calculator and one without. There is also no Science-specific subject test for the SAT.
In order, the subjects are:
Reading - 52 multiple choice questions
Writing and Language - 44 multiple choice questions
Math (No Calculator) 20 multiple choice questions
Math (Calculator) - 38 multiple choice questions
Essay (optional)
Total score range: 400-1600
The Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) and Math sections each use a scale of 200-800 and are combined for a total score.
The optional Essay uses three separate scales of 1-8 and does not count toward your final score.
The SAT is a total of 3 hours and 50 mins with the Essay. Breakdown of times per subject area:
Reading: 65 mins
Writing and Language: 35 mins
Math No Calculator: 25 mins
Math Calculator: 55 mins
Essay (optional): 50 mins
ACT PREP and practice tests
FREE PRACTICE TESTS EVERY WEEK WITH STUDYPOINT. StudyPoint is offering the practice test events, and since they do so virtually, you can take the practice test from your home. Anyone who participates will also receive a free score analysis that breaks down how you did by section, question type, and content area so you can get a sense for where you might want to do some review prior to the real thing. They run multiple practice tests each week. If you're interested you can view available dates and register for a test at the StudyPoint Website.
Tests for 2 year college: accuplacer
The ACCUPLACER is another standardized test for students who want to attend college, but it is used exclusively by 2 year colleges. Most 2 year colleges automatically admit interested applicants, the ACCUPLACER is not used to determine if a student is admitted to a college. Rather, the ACCUPLACER is used after a student has applied and been admitted to determine if that student is ready to take college level courses.
Visit the ACCUPLACER official website here.
For practice tests click here.