PSAT/SAT/ACT Test Info and Practice

College entrance exams are standardized aptitude tests used to evaluate students for college admissions and college readiness purposes. They are designed to measure students’ skills and help colleges evaluate how ready students are for college-level work. Admission tests apply a common standard to everyone. This helps colleges evaluate and compare the preparation of students who go to different high schools. All schools do not offer the same academic programs, learning environments or even expectations.

Colleges look at your test scores, along with your high school grades and courses, to see how well prepared you are for college-level work. Remember that for admissions purposes college entrance exams are just one part of your application, however all students who are admitted will need to prove college readiness in order to register for college level course work. This "college readiness" will be detemined using SAT, ACT or TSIA2 exam scores, so students should prepare for these collge entrance exams.

Types of College Entrance Exams

PSAT/NMSQT

The PSAT (which stands for Preliminary SAT) won’t count towards your college admissions applications, but it is the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship. This means that some of the highest scoring students may win scholarship money, so while you shouldn’t stress out about the PSAT, you certainly shouldn’t ignore it either. Instead, use the PSAT as practice for the SAT and ACT and one of the starting points on your college admissions journey.

How to Register:

Madison administers the PSAT to all Freshmen, Sophomores and Juniors in October.

SAT

The SAT is one of the most commonly required college entrance exams. This test has three sections: Reading, Writing and Language; Math; and an optional essay section. Each section is scored from 200-800, meaning students can score anywhere from 400-1600 on the whole test (the optional essay is scored separately).

How to Register:

Madison administers the SAT to all Juniors in March. If you wish to retest, then you will need to register on your own at collegeboard.com.

Fee waivers are available if you qualify for free/reduced lunch. Because Madison is enrolled in the Community Eligibility Progam all students recieve free breakfast and lunch, in order to be identified as qualifying for free/reduced lunch Madison students must complete the Socioeconomic Information Form that was sent out at the beginning of the year. - please contact the campus CCMR Mrs. Griffith to request a fee waiver.

ACT

The ACT is a standardized aptitude test similar in content and importance to the SAT. Both tests are accepted and looked upon favorably by a lot of colleges and universities. The ACT is multiple choice and has sections in English, Math, Reading, and Science. Like the SAT, there is an optional Writing section. Each section is scored on from 1-36, and the final score is generated as the average of all four subject areas. Students who opt to take the Writing Test will receive a Subject-Level Writing Score and an ELA score, which is the average of the scores received from English, reading, and writing)

How to Register:

You will need to register on your own at www.act.org.

Fee waivers are available if you qualify for free/reduced lunch. Because Madison is enrolled in the Community Eligibility Progam all students recieve free breakfast and lunch, in order to be identified as qualifying for free/reduced lunch Madison students must complete the Socioeconomic Information Form that was sent out at the beginning of the year. - please contact the campus CCMR Mrs. Griffith to request a fee waiver.