| The majority of testing is handled through the regular counseling office.
Please contact Mike Campbell at 871-3612 for more information.
The following is a list of dates for the national SAT and the ACT tests.
Not all of these are given at Steamboat Springs High School. Some dates are
available at other locations.
It is recommended that students register for these tests on-line, as
students then have earlier access to their test scores. Also, be sure to use
the SSHS college code of 061310, so that test scores are sent to the high
school and can be recorded on student transcripts for colleges and others
needing these scores.
SAT NATIONAL TEST DATES 2008- 2009.
Dates Registration Deadline Given at SSHS
Oct 4, 2008 Sept. 9, 2008 Yes
Nov. 1, 2008
Dec. 6. 2008 Nov. 5, 2008 Yes
Jan. 24, 2009
March 14, 2009 Feb 10, 2009 Yes
May 2, 2009 March 31, 2009 Yes
June 6, 2009 May 5, 2009 Yes
ACT NATIONAL TEST DATES 2008-2009
Test date Registation deadline Given at SSHS
September 13, 2008* August 12, 2008
October 25, 2008 September 19, 2008 Yes
Dec 13, 2008 Nov. 7, 2008 Yes
April 4, 2008 Feb 27, 2009 Yes
June 13, 2009 May 8, 2009 Yes
Showdown: ACT vs. SAT - WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE AND WHICH ONE SHOULD I TAKE?
I am often asked about difference between the SAT and the ACT and if
students need to take both. All colleges I am aware of accept either the SAT
or the ACT. The main difference is the SAT has a required writing section,
and for the ACT this section is optionally and needs to be registered for
ahead of time and taken at the time the regular ACT. A few colleges are
requiring the writing portion of either the ACT or the SAT, but most schools
are only looking at these scores if they are submitted, as another piece of
information to be considered. Go to :
http://actrs19.act.org/app3/writPrefRM to find out if the colleges you are
considering require the writing test.
Some colleges also require SAT II, which are subject specific tests, like
Spanish, American History, Calculus, etc. A student can take up to three SAT
II on a regular test date. This may require some planning ahead, if a
student wants to take or retake the SAT and get in SAT II during the fall.
Colleges will have dates when these tests need to be completed by.
All SSHS juniors will take the ACT (without the writing) on May 9th. This
test works for all colleges, with a very limited exception. It does not work
for the NCAA Clearinghouse. The ACT and SAT are both offered during May and
June.
As to the question of when should a student take a standardized test my
recommendations are?
Ø All 10th graders at SSHS take the PLAN test in the fall. They get
all the questions back and their answers. They should review and study with
this information. No sign-up is required for this test.
Ø 9th, 10th and 11th graders can take the PSAT in the fall. Again,
they get all their answers back and should use this information to
strengthen their weak areas. Students sign up for this test in the
counseling office at SSHS.
Ø All juniors take the ACT in May. No sign up is required for this
test.
Ø I recommend that juniors take either the SAT or the ACT or both in
the spring of their junior year. Register for these tests on line at
www.collegeboard.com or www.ACT.org.
Ø Students should retake either the SAT or ACT in the fall of their
senior year. Students should retake whichever test (ACT or SAT) that they
scored the highest in. Most students do better on one type of test than the
other. See the following article to understand the differences.
Ø If students are looking at schools that require SAT II subject
tests, they need to plan ahead for these and register online.
It does not matter to college how many times a student takes a standardized
test. Some schools will take parts and pieces from various test dates to get
the highest scores, other schools only accept test scores from one date, to
get the highest score. What does look bad is if a student retakes the test
and his/her scores go down or they retake the test numerous times and their
test scores never change.
There are many ways to prepare for these tests. All juniors have gotten a
crash course in test taking while the 9th and 10th graders were taking
CSAPS. There are numerous companies that teach test prep and lots of online
options. Check out the ACT or SAT websites for some options. One of best
options is to use the information received from the PLAN or PSAT test to
recognize areas that the student needs to work on. Another great idea is
practice, practice, and practice. Many sites offer free practice tests.
In general, students need to be familiar with standardized tests and develop
a plan for how they will approach studying for and taking these tests. For
some schools, standardized tests are critical for admission, for other
schools they are only one piece of the information that admissions
counselors look at.
SHOWDOWN; ACT VS SAT
Reprinted from Peterson.com
ACT or SAT? Are you facing the registration deadlines, feeling pressured to
choose, and wondering which is better? Relax! The reality is that neither
test is superior to the other. The decision of which one to take may be
determined simply by whatever admission criteria is laid out by your school
of choice. However, if the school doesn't specify which test they want,
making the "best" choice doesn't have to be difficult.
Although there is no hard science that proves that the ACT or the SAT is
easier, you probably want to determine which test format is better suited to
your strengths. Each test has different emphases and familiarity with their
individual structures may help
you sort out which is better suited to you.
About the ACT
The ACT sports four trademark multiple-choice subject tests covering
English, Math, Reading, and Science. These are designed to evaluate your
overall educational development and your ability to complete college-level
work. You'll have 2 hours and 55 minutes of dedicated test time to complete
the subject tests, not including breaks. As far as scoring goes, your
subject test scores (ranging from 1 to 36) are determined after throwing out
any incorrect answers - only correct responses count! The four areas are
then averaged together to come up with your overall, or composite, score.
The ACT also includes an optional 30-minute writing test designed to measure
your skill in planning and writing a short essay. This segment is your
chance to highlight your writing skills! If you opt to take it, the
additional scores will be reported, along with comments about your essay.
These scores are reported separately. So, if writing is a weak area, you
might want to take the ACT and skip the writing section, since it's
currently optional (although some schools require it).
If writing is your strength, having extra kudos passed on to your choice
schools may benefit you.
About the SAT
In contrast to the ACT, the SAT is designed to evaluate your general
thinking and problem-solving abilities. It kicks things off with a required
25-minute essay. This is the start to the Writing section, which you'll
complete in addition to the Critical Reading and Math sections. The SAT
differs from the ACT in terms of the amount of time you'll have to complete
it (3 hours and 5 minutes) and the format in which you provide your answers.
Similar to the ACT, the SAT has multiple-choice areas, but it also has a
part in the Math section where you'll be required produce your answers - no
chance of guessing from a set of choices here! And unlike the ACT, the SAT
doles out a slight penalty for wrong answers on the multiple-choice
questions (but not on the student produced ones).
Both tests allot ample time for completion. For students who crack under
pressure, it may be worthwhile to know that the SAT has fewer questions -
140 compared to the 215 on the ACT. The SAT also focuses heavily on
vocabulary, while the ACT hones in on grammar and punctuation.
The SAT also provides you with the chance to take Subject Tests. A few
schools may require you to take some of these tests as additional
requirements to your admission application. It's possible you won't need to
take any, but you may want to consider it if you have strengths in
particular areas. All of your scores from these additional tests will be
reported, whether they were required or not. If you're concerned that your
scores on the required SAT sections may be less than stellar, consider
registering for additional Subject Tests in areas that can demonstrate your
skills in specific subjects like English, history, mathematics, science, and
various languages.
It all depends on you
In spite of their differences, neither test is more likely than the other to
produce a great score. In fact, the vast majority of students perform
comparably on both tests. However, if you're short on time and money and
want to put your efforts towards preparing for only one of the tests, your
best bet is to take a few practice exams. There are free and low-cost
practice exams available electronically and in-print. If you're undecided
about which test to take, you may feel more strongly about one or the other
once you become familiar with the format of both. You can then evaluate your
test performance before heading off for the real thing.
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