College Entrance Examinations
SAT I, SAT II, PSAT, ACT, TOEFL -- you've probably heard about these tests, and chances are you have questions about them.  What kinds of questions will you find on these tests?  What is an average score?  What can you do to improve your score?  How do you report your scores to colleges and universities?  Read on for answers . . . 

SAT I: Reasoning Test
The SAT I is the most common entrance examination.  Colleges and universities use the scores to predict how well a prospective student will perform in college.  Plus, the results give colleges a way to compare students from different backgrounds.  The SAT I consists of two parts -- a verbal section (which tests skills such as vocabulary and reading comprehension) and a mathematics section (which tests algebra, geometry, and other math concepts).  Click here to find out more about the format of the SAT I.  You can learn about question types, too. 

The SAT is offered many times throughout the year.  Most students take the SAT in the spring of their junior year.

Scoring
SAT I scores are reported either separately (a perfect score is 800 on verbal and 800 on math) or combined (perfect score = 1600).  It is your responsibility to have your scores forwarded to colleges -- you can do this at the time you take the test or after you receive the results.  Often, the cost of score reporting is included as an option when you register for the SAT.  Find out more about scoring.

Registering
You may register online on the College Board Web site.  You many also register by mail or by telephone/fax (in certain cases). 

So, why take the SAT?  View some frequently asked questions and answers. 

SAT II: Subject Tests
The SAT II: Subject tests are given to find out how much students know about a particular subject area, like literature, U.S. history, chemistry, or French.   Colleges use SAT II scores for several reasons, usually to place students in classes and/or as criteria for admissions.  Some schools do not require students to take SAT II subject tests at all.  Check with the admissions office at the colleges you are considering to find out their requirements, or look in the admissions section of their Web sites.  Find out more here.

ACT
The ACT (American College Test) is another entrance examination used by schools throughout the country in addition to, or instead of, the SAT tests. Although the SAT is more common, many schools use the ACT, so make sure to double-check with the admissions office before you apply to a college. 

While the SAT tests mathematics and verbal skills, the ACT examines students' abilities in English, mathematics, natural sciences, and social studies. 

Like the SAT, the ACT is offered several times throughout the year and is typically taken in the spring of the junior year.  If a school you are interested in will accept either SAT or ACT scores, you may want to consider taking a practice test in each one and then take the one that you feel is best suited to your strengths.

SAT/ACT Links:

ACT
The home page for the American College Test (ACT) examinations and other testing packages, has information on the tests and the college application process. Online registration is available.  For parents, there are sections on career options, resources, and college planning. The college planning section has a planning checklist and a glossary of higher education terms.  If you visit this site, check out C3, which has information for parents, students, and school counselors including a useful financial aid estimator, links to virtual tours, and a college search engine.

ACT for Students with Disabilities
ACT Assessment Testing Options for Students with Disabilities, 2001-2002, are charted for ease of review. Eligibility, accommodations, documentation, registration procedures, and resources are provided. The ACT homepage provides additional information on ACT services for students with disabilities.

College Board
The College Board provides comprehensive information on the PSAT, SAT I, SAT II, ACT, and AP tests.  You can register online for SATs, get a predicted SAT score, and use the SAT Learning Center for real test answers and questions.  The site includes links to press releases for current testing news.  You may also link to information about career and college planning, the application process, and financial aid, as well as search engines to find colleges and scholarships that are right for you.   If you are in middle or junior high school, check out Going Right On, a free downloadable multimedia program designed to encourage middle school students to start thinking about college.

College Board Services for Students with Disabilities
The College Board is committed to serving students with disabilities by providing services and reasonable accommodations appropriate to the student's disability and the purpose of the exam. Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) provides Advanced Placement (AP), PSAT, NMSQT, and SAT testing accommodations for students who have documented disabilities. Information is provided on eligibility, registration, and resources.

Educational Testing Service
Like the College Board site, this site provides general information about testing, with schedules, practice questions, and registration information, plus information for parents, educators, policymakers, and researchers.  The site also includes several special features, such as a downloadable demo for computer-based testing and official policy statements concerning students with disabilities. 

familyeducation.com
On this site, you will be connected to useful information and links to all sorts of facts about the PSAT, SAT, and ACT.  You can find answers to FAQs, fast facts about the SAT and test-taking, test calendars, articles, software downloads of skill-building information and exercises, test day tips, and much more.  Post to or read message boards and discuss issues with colleagues and peers . . . or have your questions answered online by an expert.

number2.com 
This site offers preparation for a variety of tests, including ACT, GRE and SAT.  In the SAT section, you can take tutorials and answer practice questions on analogies, sentence completion, reading, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data. Based on your answers, the site will tell you why you were right or wrong, the difficulty of the question, and your predicted percentile ranking.  After you complete a simple registration procedure, the site remembers you and can personalize testing to your individual level in each subject.  There’s a special section for vocabulary building, plus a college search wizard and a financial aid guide.  Best of all, everything on number2.com is FREE – and the site is easily navigated, even for Internet novices. 

Princeton Review
The Princeton Review provides many services to aid in preparation for the SAT and ACT.  Site visitors can take online courses in test preparation, receive answers to common questions about testing, read helpful tips and strategies, and participate in online discussion groups.  The site also allows visitors to answer practice questions and take a full-length, timed SAT.  Students can receive online tutoring in a variety of subjects from Princeton Review 121, where experienced tutors and counselors are available free of charge. 

TOEFL
This is the official site of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).  The site includes information on computer- and paper-based TOEFL, tutorials, and practice questions.  There are separate sections for test-takers, educators, and researchers, plus a special link for test-takers with disabilities.  The site’s download library allows users to download up-to-date forms and publications.
 

SAT/ACT Tips and Strategies
Need some test-taking tips?  Try some of these sites:

Newton's Window Weekly SAT/ACT Math Tips
This site focuses mainly on math, and it has helpful hints on taking the math sections of the SAT and ACT.  It also provides a weekly list of great words to help you keep improving your vocabulary.

SAT Online
This site is a good source for test-taking tips, including lists of word roots, suffixes, and prefixes, clue words, critical reading hints, math concepts, and more.  You can also take practice quizzes in analogies, sentence completion, and math. 

SAT Test Tips
Do you know how colleges look at SAT scores and how much they count in the admissions process?  Do you know how the SAT is scored and what the median score is at more than 50 top colleges and universities?  Visit this site and find the answers to these questions, plus tips on test day preparation and evaluating your results.
 

Vocabulary Building

Free Vocabulary
Here you can find 5000 SAT preparation words, available for free.  View the words online, print the list, or download it to your computer, to a disk, or to compatible calculators. 

Quia
Play vocabulary games and learn the 100 words most commonly found on College Board tests.

Seldeen's Vocabulary
Take ten different quizzes and learn 150 must-know vocabulary words. 

vocabulary.com
This site provides vocabulary building at levels from elementary through college prep.  Play games, solve puzzles, and fill in crosswords, or take fill-in-the-blank and definition- matching tests.  There's a special section for SAT words.

Wordsmyth SAT Dictionary
An alphabetical list (including the most common definition, different parts of speech, and examples of antonyms) of the 2000 words that have appeared most frequently on the SAT over the last ten years. 

Math Skills

SAT Math Tutorial
Need to brush up on your math skills?  This site provides a free tutorial on more than 20 SAT math topics.  Review fractions, geometry, slopes, word problems, the Pythagorean Theorem, and much more -- then take a quiz on each section to test your knowledge.