Getting ready for college? Check out these vital resources.
[box type=”tick”]ACT Explore[/box]
8th & 9th Grades – Start preparing your students for college and career early and often.
The EXPLORE® program is designed to help eighth and ninth graders explore a broad range of options for their future. It prepares students not only for their high school coursework but for their post–high school choices as well.
EXPLORE® can serve as an independent program or as the entry point into ACT’s College and Career Readiness System.
[box type=”tick”]ACT PLAN [/box]
10th Graders – Navigate preparation for college and beyond.
The PLAN® program helps 10th graders build a solid foundation for future academic and career success and provides information needed to address school districts’ high-priority issues. It is a comprehensive guidance resource that helps students measure their current academic development, explore career/training options, and make plans for the remaining years of high school and post-graduation years.
PLAN® can help all students—those who are college-bound as well as those who are likely to enter the workforce directly after high school.
PLAN® serves as the midpoint measure of academic progress in ACT’s College and Career Readiness System.
[box type=”tick”]ACT Test (School Code 143220)[/box]
The ACT is accepted by all 4-year colleges and universities in the United States.
What Are ACT’s College Readiness Standards?
College Readiness Standards are detailed, research-based descriptions of the skills and knowledge associated with what students are likely to know and to be able to do based on their EXPLORE, PLAN, and/or ACT test scores.
For each content area—English, mathematics, reading, and science—Standards are provided for six score ranges along a scale common to EXPLORE (1–25), PLAN (1–32), and the ACT (1–36). Standards for the optional ACT Writing Test have also been developed, although on a different score scale (2–12). The Standards are organized by strands—(Click Here). The common score scale ensures that skills associated with each score range are identical regardless of the test used to obtain the score. As the tests increase in complexity from EXPLORE to PLAN to the ACT, the Standards ranges reflect this. Therefore, Standards for the 28–32 score range are specific to PLAN and the ACT, while those for the 33–36 score range are specific to the ACT only.
Since the EPAS programs measure students’ progressive academic development, the Standards are cumulative. That is, a student scoring in the 24–27 score range is likely able to demonstrate the skills associated with the 13–15, 16–19, and 20–23 score ranges as well. This enables EPAS to provide seamless data describing student achievement over time from grade 8 through 12.
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- The ACT multiple-choice tests are based on what you’re learning.
The ACT is not an aptitude or an IQ test. The test questions on the ACT are directly related to what you have learned in your high school courses in English, mathematics, reading, and science. Every day you attend class you are preparing for the ACT. The harder you work in school, the more prepared you will be for the test.
- There are many ways to prepare for the ACT.
Taking challenging courses in high school is the best way to prepare, but ACT also offers a number of test preparation options including free online practice tests, testing tips for each subject area tested, and the free student bookletPreparing for the ACT. This booklet includes complete practice tests (with a sample writing prompt and example essays). ACT Online Prep™, the only online test preparation program developed by ACT, is another tool to help you be ready for test day.
- The ACT helps you plan for your future.
In addition to the tests, the ACT also provides you with a unique Interest Inventory and a Student Profile Section. By responding to these sections, which ask about your interests, courses, and educational preferences, you provide a profile of your work in high school and your career choices to colleges.
- The ACT helps colleges find you.
By taking the ACT, you make yourself visible to colleges and scholarship agencies, so it’s another way to help you get ready for life after high school.
- Your ACT score is based only on what you know.
The ACT is the only college admission test based on the number of correct answers—you are not penalized for guessing.
- You choose which scores you send to colleges.
When you register for the ACT, you can choose up to four colleges to which ACT will send your scores as part of the basic fee for your test option. If you take the test more than once, you choose which test date results the colleges will receive. ACT sends scores only for the test date you select.
- Optional Writing Test.
Because not all colleges require a writing test for admission, ACT offers you the choice of whether or not you want to spend the extra time and money taking the Writing Test. Writing is a important skill for college and work, but schools use different methods to measure your writing skills. Find out what colleges have told us about their policies here.
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[box type=”tick”]SAT, PSAT/ NMSQT (School Code 143220)[/box]
The SAT is a globally recognized college admission test that lets you show colleges what you know and how well you can apply that knowledge.
SAT scores are reported on a scale from 200-800, with additional subscores reported for the essay (ranging from 2-12) and for multiple-choice writing questions (on a 20-80 scale). Your scores tell college admissions staff how you did compared with other students who took the test. For example, if you scored close to the mean or average — about 500 on SAT critical reading and 500 on SAT mathematics — admissions staff would know that you scored as well as about half of the students who took the test nationally.
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SAT Subject Test Scores
SAT Subject Test scores are reported on a scale from 200-800, with subscores being reported on a scale from 20 to 80. Reading and listening subscores are reported for all Language Tests with Listening, and a usage subscore is also reported for the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean tests. Your scores tell college admissions staff how you did compared with other students who took the test.
Read about verifying your scores.
Read about how the test is scored.
Your test score represents a snapshot in time. If you took the test multiple times, however, that number would likely change — increase or decrease — on each test. This is why we sometimes say a score range better represents your true ability; it considers multiple snapshots of your score instead of just one. Usually, your scores fall in a range of roughly 30 to 40 points above or below your true ability. Colleges know this, and they receive the score ranges along with your scores to consider that single snapshot in context.
Average (or mean) scores are based upon the most recent SAT scores of all students of a particular graduating class.
Percentiles compare your scores to those of other students who took the test. Say, for example, your reading score is 500. If the state percentile for a score of 500 is 47, then this means you did better than 47 percent of the state’s college-bound seniors.
Percentiles are based on the most recent scores earned by students in the previous year’s graduating class who took the SAT during high school. For the SAT, you will see percentiles both for the total group of test-takers and for your state. Your percentile changes depending on the group with which your scores are compared. Because the total group is larger and more diverse than the state group, your total and state percentiles may differ.
SAT Percentile Ranks
Subject Test Percentile Ranks
More on Subscores:
SAT Writing Section Subscores
The raw scores for the multiple-choice writing section are converted to scaled scores that are reported on a 20-80 scale. Every SAT contains a 25-minute essay. The essay subscore is reported on a 2-12 scale. (Essays that are not written on the essay assignment, or which are considered illegible after several attempts at reading, receive a score of 0.) Each essay is independently scored from 1 to 6 by two readers. These readers’ scores are combined to produce the 2-12 scale. If the two readers’ scores differ by more than one point, a third reader scores the essay. The multiple-choice writing section counts for approximately 70 percent, and the essay counts for approximately 30 percent of your total raw score, which is used to calculate your 200-800 score. For more information, visit the Scoring Guide.
SAT Subject Tests Subscores
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The SAT is a globally recognized college admission test that lets you show colleges what you know and how well you can apply that knowledge. It tests your knowledge of reading, writing and math — subjects that are taught every day in high school classrooms. Most students take the SAT during their junior or senior year of high school, and almost all colleges and universities use the SAT to make admission decisions.
Taking the SAT is the first step in finding the right college for you — the place where you can further develop your skills and pursue your passions. But SAT scores are just one of many factors that colleges consider when making their admission decisions. High school grades are also very important. In fact, the combination of high school grades and SAT scores is the best predictor of your academic success in college.
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[box type=”tick”]Free Online Math SAT Prep from khanacademy.org [/box]
A free world-class education for anyone anywhere.
The Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. A not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere. All of the site’s resources are available to anyone. It doesn’t matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. The Khan Academy’s materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge.
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How it works for students
Students can make use of our extensive video library, practice exercises, and assessments from any computer with access to the web.
- Complete custom self-paced learning tool
- A dynamic system for getting help
- A custom profile, points, and badges to measure progress
Coaches, parents, and teachers
Coaches, parents, and teachers have unprecedented visibility into what their students are learning and doing on the Khan Academy.
- Ability to see any student in detail
- A real-time class report for all students
- Better intelligence for doing targeted interventions