PRE-ACT/ACT/PSAT/SAT

PSAT

The PSAT is a College Board examination administered in October of every school year. It is an officially released version of a previously administered SAT exam. The exam is scored from 20-80 for each of the three parts, Critical Reading, Mathematics and Writing.  It is meant to be a practice test and can give you a good idea on what you can do to prepare for the SAT.  It is administered to students in any grade level during the school day for a fee of $18. The PSAT itself has NO bearing on college admissions. So, why take it? 

• The PSAT provides you with good information about what you can do to prepare for the SAT examinations you might take later on. 

• The PSAT is used by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation to qualify students for various scholarships based on their Junior year PSAT scores.

• Colleges and universities use the information from the PSAT as a means to begin communicating with students regarding higher education and financial aid opportunities.

Pre-ACT

The Pre-ACT consists of multiple choice tests in English, Math, Reading, and Science. It will be given to all 10th grade students free of charge each fall. Results predict future success on the ACT test, and provide both current achievement and projected future ACT test scores on the familiar 1-36 ACT score scale. For more information, visit the Pre-ACT website. 

The SAT is one mechanism used by colleges to determine your readiness for success at their school. This exam has three parts, Reading, Mathematics and Writing and Language, and each has a minimum score of 200, with a maximum score of 800. Tests are typically administered on a Saturday morning, and are NOT administered at every high school. You can take the exam as many times as you wish, and most schools will accept your highest individual score in each area, even if they are on different test dates. Typically, students do not perform significantly better on the SAT after the third attempt unless they have made some dedicated effort to prepare. If you wish to attend a 4-year college or university that uses the SAT for admission, it is a good idea to take it at least twice, once during your junior year and early in senior year. Community colleges and two year schools do not typically use the SAT for admissions, but will use them for placement if you have taken them. Test scores must be sent directly to the requesting college or university from College Board.  

All students who are in 11th grade in PowerSchool are REQUIRED to take the ACT once for free at school. This usually takes place in late February or early March. The ACT is an exam that contains four subtests: English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science. The test scores range from 1 to 36, with a final composite score ranging from 1 to 36.

​In addition to the required test administered at school during the junior year, the ACT is typically administered on a Saturday morning, and is NOT administered at every high school. You can take the exam as many times as you wish, and most schools will accept your highest individual score in each area, even if they are on different test dates.

Here are the ACT instructions for students who took the ACT junior year and want those scores sent to colleges: 

1. Go to www.actstudent.org. 

2. Click on "Sign up/Log in"

3.  Click "Create Account"

4. Answer the two questions: "Have you registered for the ACT before?" (NO) and "Have you taken the ACT before?"(YES) Click "Continue." 

5. Complete the brief form including entering the email address you will keep and check. Click "Continue." 

6. Enter in the student's social security number OR ACT ID number (NO DASHES). This number is on their ACT report from last year. It's at the top of the form, listed under the birthday, and says "ID-XX-XX-XXXX" **This step is how the student accesses last year's scores as opposed to creating a new account w no score report history.** 

7. From there, the student will create a username and a password will be emailed to him/her. He/She will go to their email, get the password, go back to the website, and create a new password. 8. Then, the student can view last year's ACT, select colleges to send it to, etc. The current cost the score report is $11 per school/report sent.