act and sat prep everything you didn’t want to know about preparing for the tests…
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ACT and SAT PREP
Everything you didn’t want to know about preparing for
the tests…
ACT• The ACT® test assesses high school
students' general educational development and their ability to complete college-level work.
• The multiple-choice tests cover four skill areas: English, mathematics, reading, and science.
• The Writing Test measures skill in planning and writing a short essay.
www.act.org
SAT• SAT tests students' knowledge of
subjects that are necessary for college success: reading, writing, and mathematics.
• The SAT assesses the critical thinking skills students need for academic success in college—skills that students learned in high school.
www.collegeboard.com
ACT and SAT: Purpose
For students:• To advise students about their
academic standing statewide and nationwide
• To identify academic areas of strength and weakness
For colleges and universities• To determine a student’s potential
academic performance/success in college
ACT: Test Structure• English Section• Measures standard written
English and rhetorical skills• 75 questions• 45 minutes
www.act.org
ACT: English section• The test consists of five prose passages,
each one accompanied by multiple-choice test questions. Different passage types are included to provide variety.
• Questions ask about an underlined portion, a section of the passage, or the passage as a whole.
• Many questions include "NO CHANGE" to the underlined portion or the passage as one of the choices.
www.act.org
ACT: Test Structure• Mathematics Section• Measures mathematical skills
students have typically acquired in courses taken up to the beginning of grade 12.
• 60 questions• 60 minutes
www.act.org
ACT: Mathematics Section• The test presents multiple-choice
questions that require reasoning skills to solve practical problems in mathematics.
• Students need knowledge of basic formulas and computational skills to answer the problems, but are not required to know complex formulas and perform extensive computation.
• Calculators are permitted but not necessary.
www.act.org
ACT: Test Structure• Reading Section• Measures reading
comprehension• 40 questions• 35 minutes
www.act.org
ACT: Reading SectionQuestions ask students to use referring and
reasoning skills to:• determine main ideas• locate and interpret significant details• understand sequences of events• make comparisons• comprehend cause-effect relationships• determine the meaning of context-dependent
words, phrases, and statements• draw generalizations• analyze the author's or narrator's voice and
methodwww.act.org
ACT: Reading Section
The test comprises four prose passages that are representative of the level and kind of reading required in first-year college courses; passages on topics in social studies, natural sciences, prose fiction, and the humanities are included.
www.act.org
ACT: Test Structure• Science Section• Measures the interpretation,
analysis, evaluation, reasoning, and problem-solving skills required in the natural sciences.
• 40 questions• 35 minutes
www.act.org
ACT: Science SectionThe test presents seven sets of scientific
information, each followed by a number of multiple-choice test questions. The scientific information is presented in one of three different formats:
• data representation (graphs, tables, and other schematic forms)
• research summaries (descriptions of one or more related experiments)
• conflicting viewpoints (expressions of several related hypotheses or views that are inconsistent with one another)
www.act.org
ACT: Science SectionThe questions require students to:• recognize and understand the basic
features of, and concepts related to, the provided information
• examine critically the relationship between the information provided and the conclusions drawn or hypotheses developed
• generalize from given information and draw conclusions, gain new information, or make predictions
www.act.org
ACT: Test Structure• Writing Section• Measures writing skills
emphasized in high school English classes and in entry-level college composition courses.
• 1 prompt• 30 minutes
www.act.org
ACT: Writing Section• The test consists of one writing prompt that
will define an issue and describe two points of view on that issue.
• You are asked to respond to a question about your position on the issue described in the writing prompt.
• In doing so, you may adopt one or the other of the perspectives described in the prompt, or you may present a different point of view on the issue.
• Your score will not be affected by the point of view you take on the issue.
www.act.org
ACT: Testing Tips• Carefully read the instructions
on the cover of the test booklet. • Read the directions for each test
carefully. • Read each question carefully.
www.act.org
ACT: Testing Tips• Pace yourself—don't spend too
much time on a single passage or question.
• Pay attention to the announcement of five minutes remaining on each test.
www.act.org
ACT: Testing Tips• Answer the easy questions first,
then go back and answer the more difficult ones if you have time remaining on that test.
• On difficult questions, eliminate as many incorrect answers as you can, then make an educated guess among those remaining.
www.act.org
ACT: Testing Tips – Important
• Answer every question. Your scores on the multiple-choice tests are based on the number of questions you answer correctly. There is no penalty for guessing.
www.act.org
• Answer first and last questions in English and Math sections. The first 10-15 and last 10-15 questions in these sections are generally easier than the middle questions.
ACT: Scores
ACT scores range from 11 to 36
Highest score is a 36What is a good score?
“21”!
What’s The difference between ACT and SAT
scores?• The ACT score has the four
sections scores averaged into a composite score.
ACT: Sample Score Report
www.actstudent.orgSearch for sample
score report
SAT: Test Structure• Critical Reading Section• 70 minutes (two 25-minute
sections and one 20-minute section)
• Reading comprehension, sentence completions, and paragraph-length critical reading
www.collegeboard.com
SAT: Critical Reading• Sentence completion questions test
your vocabulary and your understanding of sentence structure. (9 questions)
• Passage-based reading questions test your comprehension of what is stated in or implied by the passage, not your prior knowledge of the topic. (8 questions)
www.collegeboard.com
SAT: Test Structure• Mathematics Section• 70 minutes (two 25-minute sections
and one 20-minute section)• Multiple-choice questions and
student-produced responses
www.collegeboard.com
SAT: Mathematics Section• Multiple-choice questions
• (44 questions)• Student-produced response ques
tions appear without answer choices. You'll use your answer sheet to "grid in" your solution. • (10 questions)
www.collegeboard.com
SAT: Test Structure• Writing Section• 60 minutes (two 25-minute
sections and one 10-minute section)
• Multiple choice questions (35 min.) and student-written essay (25 min.)
www.collegeboard.com
SAT: Writing Section• The SAT® begins with an essay.
You'll be asked to present and support a point of view on a specific issue. Because you have only 25 minutes, your essay is not expected to be polished—it is meant to be a first draft.
www.collegeboard.com
SAT: Writing Section
The SAT writing section also includes three types of multiple-choice questions: • Improving sentences (25 questions)• Identifying sentence errors (18
questions)• Improving paragraphs (6 questions)
www.collegeboard.com
SAT: Writing SectionThe multiple-choice sections measure your ability to:• communicate ideas clearly and effectively• improve a piece of writing through revision and editing• recognize and identify sentence-level errors• understand grammatical elements and structures and
how they relate to each other in a sentence• recognize correctly formed grammatical structures• clearly express ideas through sentence-combining and
use of transitional words and phrases• improve coherence of ideas within and among
paragraphswww.collegeboard.com
SATII: Subject Tests• The SAT Subject Tests measure your
knowledge and skills in particular subject areas, and your ability to apply that knowledge.
• The SAT Subject Tests are the only national admissions tests that give you the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of content in specific subjects, such as English, history, mathematics, science, and various foreign languages.
www.collegeboard.com
SAT: Testing Tips• Answer easy questions first. The easier
questions are usually at the start of the section, and the harder ones are at the end. The exception is in the critical reading section, where questions are ordered according to the logic and organization of each passage.
• Make educated guesses. If you can rule out one or more answer choices for multiple-choice questions, you have a better chance of guessing the right answer.
• Skip questions that you really can't answer. No points are deducted if an answer is left blank.
www.collegeboard.com
SAT grading• ¼ point is deducted for every
wrong answer• 1 point is given for each correct
answer
SAT: Testing Tips• Limit your time on any one
question. All questions are worth the same number of points. If you need a lot of time to answer a question, go on to the next one. Later, you may have time to return to the question you skipped.
• Keep track of time. Don't spend too much time on any group of questions within a section.
www.collegeboard.com
SAT: website
www.collegeboard.com
SAT: Scores
SAT scores range from 2400 to 510
Highest score is a 2400What score do you want?“540” or better on each section even for County
College
SAT• Most colleges only use the
Reading and Math for admission• The writing section is used for
English placement in college
SAT: Sample Score Report
Using a search engine, search for sample sat score report. Click on Page 1 of 6 Score Report. It is a sample score report provided by the Princeton Review.
ACT and SAT: Test Day Tips• Get a good night’s sleep• Eat breakfast. Take snacks for
the break.• New rule – don’t bring your cell
phone.• Bring a watch for time keeping.
ACT and SAT: Test Day Tips• Bring appropriate photo ID• Bring admission ticket.• Bring several no. 2 pencils (no
mechanical pencils or pens)• Bring approved calculator
(allowed but not necessary)• *You will have to up upload a
photo when you register
ACT and SAT: When to Take?
• Spring of junior year• Last chance for seniors: November
ACT and SAT: How Many Times?
• Check with guidance to do a comparison between PSAT and SAT
• Statistics show that on average students improve 1-2 points on the ACT and 50-200 points on the SAT.
ACT: Test Dates 2013/2014
ACT: FeesACT test with no writing section $35.00
ACT test with writing section $50.50
Fees include score to student, score report to high school, and four score reports to colleges and universities of student’s choiceHHS School Code: 310465
Test DateRegistration Deadline
(Late Fee Required)
February 8, 2014* January 10, 2014 January 11–24, 2014
April 12, 2014 March 7, 2014 March 8–21, 2014
June 14, 2014 May 9, 2014 May 10–23, 2014
SAT: Test Dates Test date
December 7, 2013
January 25, 2014
March 8, 2014May 3, 2014June 7, 2014 SAT: Fees
SAT test includes writing section $50SAT subject tests $23Fees include score to student, score report to high school, and four score reports to colleges and universities of student’s choiceFee waivers available: see your campus counselor for qualifications
Know your scores individually
NOT TOTAL SCORE!
Go to the high school website
• Check out the guidance page• Click on the college planning link on
the left• Check out the college planning
calendar for your junior year• Look at the ACT/SAT Comparison link• Look at the college open houses
dates
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