PaSSport Day College Entrance Tests -Patrick Loehr

SAT vs. ACT  SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test)  Started in 1926  Total test time: 3 hours (plus optional 50 min. essay)  Maintained by College Board  Offered 7 times annually  Score range  Taken by ~1.67 million high school students annually  ACT (American College Testing)  Started in 1959  Total test time: 2:55 (plus additional 40 min. essay)  Maintained by ACT, Inc.  Offered 6 times annually  Score range 1-36  Taken by ~1.84 million high school students annually  More popular since 2011

SAT  Format  Two Math sections  20 questions, 25 minutes (no calculator permitted)  38 questions, 55 minutes (calculator permitted)  Two evidence-based Reading and Writing sections  52 questions, 65 minutes (critical reading)  44 questions, 35 minutes (writing and language)  Essay (optional), 50 minutes  Content  Math  Arithmetic, algebra 1&2, geometry, trigonometry  Reading and Writing  Reading comprehension, vocabulary, sentence completion, sentence improvement, paragraph improvement  Scoring  Each section  Total score  No guessing penalty

ACT  Format  English Test  75 questions, 45 minutes  Reading Test  40 questions, 35 minutes  Math Test  60 questions, 60 minutes (calculator permitted)  Science Test  40 questions, 35 minutes  Content  English  Grammar, usage, punctuation, organization, rhetoric  Reading  4 passages: prose fiction, humanities, social science, natural science  Math  Arithmetic, algebra 1&2, geometry, trigonometry  Science  7 passages: data interpretation and analysis  Scoring  Each section 1-36  Total score 1-36  No guessing penalty

Optional Essays SAT  Optional (as of Mar. ‘16)  50 min.  Response to passage  Scoring: 3 Criteria  Reading comprehension  Analysis  Writing ACT  Optional  40 min.  Prompt on social issues  Scoring: 4 Categories  Ideas and Analysis  Organization  Development  Language

Other Tests  SAT Subject Test (SAT II)  Twenty subjects  Literature, History, Math, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and various world languages (with or without listening component)  Test time: 1 hour  Score range  Penalty for guessing  EAP (Early Assessment Program)  College expectations in math and English  Joint program with CSU (California State University)  Avoid one- or two-semester course in college  CAASPP (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress), SBAC  11 th -grade English language arts/literacy  11 th -grade mathematics

Important Dates  SAT & SAT subject test(s)  May 7, 2016 (register by April 8)  June 4, 2016 (register by May 5)  ACT  April 9, 2016 (register by March 4)  June 11, 2016 (register by May 6)  Why start now?  Multiple attempts at each test  Superscoring  Plan for the summer

Testing Fees SAT  $54.50 with essay  $43.00 without essay SAT II  $26.00 per test date PLUS:  $18 per test (up to three)  $26 per language test with listening ACT  $49.50 with essay  $34.00 without essay Additional fees to report scores:  SAT: 4 free reports, then $11.25 per school  ACT: 4 free reports, then $12.00 per school

Fee Waiver  Free/reduced-price lunch program  Federal, state, or local aid program (e.g. Upward Bound)  Public assistance  USDA household income  Public housing, foster care, homeless

Resources  Prep Courses  Kaplan  ~$750 for 16 classes in-person  ~$750 for 32 classes online  ~$150-$200/hr. for private tutoring  Princeton Review  ~$1000 for 25 hours in-person or online (class size 12+)  ~$1600 for 25 hours in-person or online (class size 4 max.)  ~$250/hr. for private tutoring  Other companies: WyzAnt, Veritas Prep, Varsity Tutors, etc.  Prep Books  Princeton Review, Barron’s, McGraw-Hill, Kaplan, etc.  Free practice tests  Free Online Resources   

Patrick Loehr  At SCPA  