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How SATS Work
Tests are a fact of life throughout our school careers, but one of the most important, and, to some, the scariest, of them all is the SAT—that three-hour exam that’s supposed to measure a high school student’s chance of academic success in the first year of college. Some colleges consider SAT scores major factors in their admission process, while others view high school academic performance, along with recommendations and extracurricular activities, equally, or even more importantly. No matter where you’re headed, if you’re a high school student, the SAT is important to you because most colleges require students to report either SAT or ACT Assessment scores.
What Is the SAT
First of all, SAT no longer stands for Scholastic Aptitude Test (学术性倾向测验), the original name of the test when it was introduced in 1941. Although you may still see that name occasionally, the College Board, the not-for-profit educational association that sponsors the SATS, decided to let the acronym stand on its own as a way of addressing controversy about the meaning of the word "aptitude". The College Board also rejected the alternative "Scholastic Assessment Test". (English teachers probably pointed out that this name was redundant, since assessment means test. )
The SAT I measures verbal and math reasoning abilities that you’ve developed throughout your school years. The multiple-choice test, developed by the not-for-profit Educational Testing Service, is intended to let students demonstrate their verbal and math abilities without regard to the kind of schooling they’ve had. According to the College Board, the test looks for a student’s ability to understand and analyze written material, to draw inferences, to differentiate shades of meaning, to draw conclusions and solve math problems—all skills that are necessary for success in college and the work world.
The American College Testing (ACT) Assessment, which was introduced in 1959, is an alternative to the SAT that virtually all colleges and universities now accept. Developers of the test tout it for its curriculum-based questions, saying that their test is more directly related to what is actually taught in high school.
What’s the SAT II
The newer SAT II: Subject Tests, formerly the College Board Achievement Tests, are intended to measure a student’s knowledge of a particular subject, such as English (writing or literature), history and social sciences, mathematics (various levels), sciences, and languages (Chinese, French, German, modern Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Spanish, English). Some colleges require one or more SAT II tests, but even if they aren’t required, SAT II tests scores can help you present a more personalized portfolio that illustrates how well you would fit at a particular school. Most colleges use SAT II scores not for admission purposes but for program placement and counseling. SAT II tests are given on a slightly different schedule from the SAT I. Generally, SAT II tests arc one hour long and consist of multiple choice questions. There are exceptions. For example, the Writing Test has 40 minutes of multiple-choice questions and a 20-minute writing sample.
To decide which subject test should be taken, first,, make a list of all the colleges you’re considering. Then review their catalogs or websites to find out if they require Subject Test scores for admission and, if so, which ones. Use your list of colleges and their admission requirements to help plan your high school course schedule. For example, a college to which you plan to apply may require a language Subject Test score or might exempt you from a first-year course requirement if you do well on a language Subject Test.
In addition, the College Board website can be searched for information about Subject Test requirements at specific colleges.
When Is the SAT Taken
Generally, the latest you can take your SATS and be eligible for admission in the next academic year is in the fall of your senior year of high school. You’ll want to check application deadlines at schools in which you’re interested to be sure your scores will make it in on time. (You can also take advantage of the College Board’s new phone-for-results service. You’ll be charged a fee but you’ll get your scores about 10 days earlier. ) Increasingly, students are taking the SAT in the summer before their senior years, in the 11th grade and even as early as the 10th grade.
It’s very important to register early for the SAT to, avoid the deadline rush, since testing sites can fill up quickly and force you to go to one farther away. (Deadlines are usually about a month or six weeks before the actual test. ) You can register online now—but once you’ve registered, you can’t cancel. However, you can change your test date for a fee.
Regarding the SAT II tests, if possible, take tests like American history, biology, chemistry and physics right after your course ends at school, while the information is still fresh in your mind. On the other hand, you’ll probably do better taking writing and language tests after several years of study. Most students take Subject Tests toward the end of their junior year or at the beginning of their senior year.
Before you take the SAT, you’ll take the PSAT/NMSQT (it’s co-sponsored by the National Merit Scholarship Corp., which, along with other scholarship funds, uses the scores to select scholarship recipients). The PSAT is similar to the SAT I except that it is a half-hour shorter and includes a grammar section that’s absent from the SAT I. The PSAT is offered twice each year, usually in the fall. PSATS are typically taken in the 10th or 11th grade, and you can contact your school’s counseling office for registration information. PSATS, unlike SATS, are administered through your high school.
How Should SAT Be Prepared for
That’s a good question and one that educational experts still debate. The College Board stops short of endorsing the use of test preparation services, which can charge hundreds of dollars per person per prep course. Board officials maintain that the nature of the SAT makes it difficult to study, or "cram" for and that your best bet is to take academically challenging, pre-collegiate courses in high school and to keep your study habits strong and your grades high. The College Board suggests that taking the PSAT/NMSQT is a good way to prepare (it also gets you on college mailing lists) as are studying the types of questions in the SAT and taking the sample SAT I, which is provided free at high schools.
On the other side of the fence sit test preparation giants making millions of dollars each year offering courses designed to help students boost their performances on the SAT, PSAT;ACT and a variety of other academic and professional tests. These companies resent any implication that they teach students test-taking "tricks", saying that their businesses spend a lot of money on specialized research aimed at learning what it takes to get good test scores and that they pass those findings on to course-takers. Some test-preparation companies even guarantee specific score increases. If the scores aren’t there, these firms offer cash back or, more often, a free repeat Of the course. There are many of these services, so cruise the Internet and your local telephone directory if you’re interested.
How do most colleges use SAT II scores

• A) They use the scores for admission purposes.
• B) They use the scores to place the students in the right programs.
• C) They use the scores to select students’ leaders.
• D) They use the scores to grant scholarships.