There are a lot of different tests you’ll have to take in high school. Some of them are required by the state and others are optional, but will help you with college applications. 

On this page you’ll find information about each, along with what the score you get will mean and some of our advice on how to prepare for them.

 

Tests

Regents

By Maya Villanueva

The New York State (NYS) Regents Exams are a set of required tests administered to students in the state of New York. Students are required to pass a certain amount of exams in order to receive a high school diploma. The minimum passing score for each exam is 65, however, students with a documented disability can be eligible to pass with a lower score. A student can obtain an NYS Regents diploma with honors by having an average score of 90 across the exams. Students can also acquire an advanced designation with your diploma, but need to pass additional tests with a 65 or higher. By getting an 85 or higher on either three math exams or three science exams, students can also have Mastery in Math or Mastery in Science added to their Regents with Advanced Designation diploma. 

The NYS Regents Exams are given each year during January, June, and August. All of the exams are available during January and June, but only some can be taken in August. There are about 10 different NYS Regents Exams overall. Five need to be taken and passed in order to graduate:

    • English Language Arts (ELA)

    • At least one math regents (Algebra I, Geometry, or Algebra II)

    • At least one science regents (Living Environment, Earth Science, Chemistry, or Physics)

    • At least one social studies regents (Global History or United States History and Government)

    • Language other than English (French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Spanish)

Students who fail the Regent's exam may take it as many times as it takes to pass it, and there are prep classes for people having trouble passing it.

The Regents are not used for college placement. If you get an Advanced Regents Diploma with Honors, you may get some money from a SUNY (State University of New York) or CUNY (City University of New York), but other than that, private colleges or public colleges elsewhere don’t know or care about them.

For more information about the Regents or each test structure, you can visit the NYC Department of Education website:

https://www.schools.nyc.gov/learning/in-our-classrooms/testing/ny-state-high-school-regents-exams

Here are some free resources to help you prep for the Regents:

AP Tests

By Marisol Fraguada

AP exams are the end-of-year tests that happen after completing pretty much every AP level course (except art studio, for which there’s a final portfolio.) They hold importance because they can show a college that you are prepared for college-level courses. They’re graded out of 5, where earning a 1 designates the test taker as “unqualified” and 5 is “extremely qualified.” Earning a 3 or above is enough to earn you credit, depending on what college you go to, but most like to see a 4 or 5. More selective institutions require you to have higher scores in order to receive credit. AP tests cost money, about $100 each, however, there is a fee waiver available for low income students that cuts the price in half. Most AP tests have both a multiple choice and free response section, and there are online practice test/study resources available for every test. For math, science and social studies, Khan Academy has especially good programs, and is an official partner of the college board. AP test scores don’t show up on your transcript and schools generally don’t require them. However, you do have the option to report them to demonstrate your ability to schools. Some schools that recommend/require submitting SAT II/SAT subject tests scores, will accept an AP score in their place. Prepare for your AP test by keeping organized notes all year, and studying from them frequently. Look for advice from kids who’ve already taken them and take practice exams semi-regularly, especially towards the end of the year.

The SAT, PSAT, and SAT IIs

By Suzuki Lin

 

PSAT 10 & PSAT

The majority of sophomores will get the opportunity to take the PSAT10. It is essentially a practice test for you to see how the real SAT is structured and timed. The questions are tweaked so that they make sense for your grade level and there are fewer questions compared to the SAT. The score that you get on this doesn’t count towards anything, it is just a tool for you to see where you are. 

In your junior year, you will take the PSAT/NMSQT which is structured similarly to the PSAT10, but it will be tweaked to fit in with the new knowledge you gained since you took the PSAT10. Unlike the PSAT10, taking the test makes you eligible for the National Merit Scholarship Program; if you score high on this test, you can become one of the 7 to 8 thousand people who get a scholarship of $2,500. There is also a similar scholarship for students who are one-quarter Latino/Hispanic called the National Hispanic Recognition Program. If you get a high score, you will get an email saying that you qualified and you then have to submit an application to move on in the competition. 

The bottom line is don’t stress about PSATs, but if you do want to study for it, there are practice tests from the College Board you can take.

SAT IIs

In addition to the regular SAT, there are also SAT Subject Tests or SAT II’s for almost every subject you will have in high school. Each test has between 50-95 multiple choice questions and you are given only an hour to complete it. The tests are scored out of 800 points and you can take up to 3 tests in one sitting.  Unlike the SAT, if you skip questions, points will not be deducted. The regular SAT only counts the questions you get right, but the subject tests take points off when you get a question wrong. Also, even though the SAT and the SAT II test dates are the same, you cannot take them on the same day.  

You might be asking why you would even take the SAT Subject Tests. The answer to that question is that you don’t have to because most colleges do not require SAT II tests. However, colleges do look at SAT II scores you submit to learn more about you and what test subjects you felt confident enough to take. The recommended number of tests to take is three and which ones you take is completely up to you. However, some colleges may require students to take certain tests so it is always good to look into this when you are thinking about a college

This is a lot to take in and you may be feeling stressed with all this information, but below is some advice that may help you decide when to take the tests, how to prepare for them, and more:

  • When you complete one of the courses on the list of Subject tests, consider taking it even if you’re only in your freshman or sophomore year. It is recommended that you take one after every school year. Spreading out the tests will make you feel less stressed about the number of tests you have to take and study for when you get to your junior or senior year. 

  • Skip questions if you really don’t know the answer. If you guess, make sure it’s based on some information you know, not an “eeny meeny miny moe” situation.

  • The cost to take the test is a base fee of $26 dollars plus $18 for every test you want to take that day. 

  • To study for the tests, there are online resources like Khan Academy.  Prep books by brands like Princeton Review, Barrons, and Kaplan are also very helpful. 

  • I recommend that you take a couple of timed practice tests to get a feel for the pressure because there are usually more questions than minutes for these tests.

SAT

One of the things that can be extremely overwhelming in high school is the SAT. As you may know, the SAT(Standardized Admissions Test) is one of the standardized tests that you can take to apply for college (the other being the ACT). The SAT is a 3-hour exam that is scored out of 1600 points with 4 sections: Reading, Writing and Language, Math with no calculator, and Math with calculator. Each section is worth 400 points, but the point value of each question is based on a curve.

There is also an optional essay that is graded out of 24 points. You have a specific amount of time to complete each section and you cannot go back to a previous section when the time is up.

  • Reading→ You will have 65 minutes to complete this section that consists of 5 passages with roughly 10 questions per passage. There are usually 2 science readings, a narrative or fictional passage, a historical passage, and a social science passage. One of the readings will be what is known as a “double passage” which has two passages. 

  • https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/inside-the-test/reading 

  • Writing and Language→ also known as the “grammar” section. You will have 35 minutes for 44 questions concerning errors in 4 passages. The questions may refer to an underlined portion, a paragraph, or the whole passage; the questions ask about how a portion of the passage can be improved or corrected given the different choices. 

  • https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/inside-the-test/writing-language 

    • Tips: remember to be concise→ many answer choices will say close to the same thing, but the concise answer is usually correct.

    • even though it’s not reading comprehension, it is still important to read the passages thoroughly as you may need context for certain questions

  • Math(no calculator) → this section is 25 minutes long with 20 questions. There will be 15 multiple choice questions and 5 grid-in responses. Since you are not allowed to use your calculator for this section, the questions will have numbers that are easier to work with. 

    • Tips: be careful with the time, some people like to the grid-in responses first because they don’t like to feel rushed when they are doing it at the end

  • Math(calculator) → For this section, you will have 55 minutes to answer 38 questions, 8 of which will be grid-in responses. 

  • https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/inside-the-test/math 

    • Tips: people usually use the Texas Instrument graphing calculator for this section but other graphing calculators will work as well. If you don’t know if your testing center supplies graphing calculators, it is best to provide your own or borrow someone else’s.

  • Optional essay-You will have 50 minutes to read a passage and write about how the writer uses literary tools like evidence, reasoning, and word choice to support his or her claims. 

    • Two graders will read your essay and you will get a score in 3 categories: Reading, Analysis, and Writing. You will receive a grade ranging from 2-8 for each of these sections. 

    • Some colleges require the essay, so be sure to check when you decide whether or not to take it

Most people take the SAT more than once so don’t get too stressed about getting the score you want in one test. Also, if you take multiple tests, you can obtain a “superscore.” This is the combination of your best score for the English section and your best score for the Math section from multiple tests. Let’s say you get a 650 on the English section for one test and a 700 on the other; the superscore will combine your 700 with your best Math score. 

The SAT may sound complicated and scary but once you learn more about it, it will feel less threatening. If you have access to review books, make sure you use them to your advantage and take timed practice tests to keep track of your progress. I recommend using Khan Academy if you don’t have access to review books because it has a partnership with the College Board(the people who make the SAT) and countless questions you can do. 

Most high schools enroll students in one SAT, typically in the spring. There is a fee ($64.50 with essay/ $49.50 without) but there is also a fee waiver for those eligible. Other than that one SAT, you have to enroll in the rest of them by yourself on the College Board website. There you will find test dates, locations, information about the fee waiver, and a lot of the aforementioned free test prep.

 

ACT

 

The ACT is a 4 section, 4-5 hour test. The sections are reading, english, math (with calculator) and science. Each section is scored out of 36, with a composite (average) score also out of 36. Like the SAT, a writing section is offered. The writing section is scored out of 12. Some colleges will require that you take the writing section for your score to be considered. If you have any schools in mind, check whether or not they require the writing section. As of writing this, ACT superscore is not offered by the majority of schools, but with the current situation, the ACT organization is lobbying colleges to accept superscores and single section or online retakes. 

The ACT is one of the few major standardized tests that is not owned by the College Board. It still costs money to take, with an additional fee for the writing section, but fee waivers can reduce or eliminate cost for low-income students. The ACT is shorter than the SAT with fewer, slightly less complex questions, so students who perform well under a time crunch might prefer it to the SAT. The science section is intimidating to a lot of students, but with proper preparation, it can be no more difficult than reading. 

Because the ACT is scored so differently than the SAT, it can be confusing to compare ACT and SAT scores. Here is a guide: https://www.princetonreview.com/college-advice/act-to-sat-conversion

Free and paid resources to help prepare for the ACT

Free:

If you have any schools in mind that you really want to shoot for, check what their 75th percentile of accepted ACT scores is. To have the best chance of getting in, you should land in that 75th percentile. 

A straightforward way of gauging which test to take is to simply take an SAT and ACT practice test, and to take whichever you prefer or score higher on. Ample free online resources exist for both tests. With the right preparation, you can raise your score 10 points or more, and while some colleges will request all of your scores, they will take improvement into account and value a student who is able to raise a low score. Some students even prefer to go into their first test cold, with no practice, just to see what their score is. While it might be helpful for some to do this, it can take up time and money, especially when self-testing at home is accessible. 

I took the ACT only after getting an okay PSAT score. I prefer shorter tests and feel that I perform well under a time restraint, and I wasn’t too scared by the science section. In studying, I felt that the best approach to science was to treat it the exact same way I did the reading-- skim the source, then at each question go back and check where I remembered seeing the data. For most science questions, all the information you will need is just in the tables and graphs, with little-to-no actual need to read the more complicated descriptions. The english and math sections require more fact-based studying; if you know the grammatical rules or mathematical equations, you’ll get through fine, but you can’t just rely on technique like with science and reading.

 

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