Guidance: General Information

College Entrance Testing Information

There are two college entrance exams, the ACT (American College Test) and the SAT I and/or II (Scholastic Assessment Test), which are used for admission, placement, and scholarships. It is recommended that college-bound students check requirements of individual colleges to determine the necessary tests for admission. Registration forms are available in the college/career center and online. Students who must test on a Sunday for religious reasons should check the College Board web site or the SAT registration bulletin for required documentation, locations and dates of exams offered.

ACT (American College Testing Program)

The Act is approximately three hours long consisting of four tests: English (45 min's), Math (60 min's), Reading (35 min's), and Science Reasoning (35 min's). The score is based on the number of correct answers; there is no penalty for guessing. Students should mail their registration form and $30.00 fee in the pre-addressed envelope available in the college/career center. Registration is also available online at www.act.org. Deadlines not met require an additional $19.00 late or $39.50 stand-by fee. A 30-minute optional Writing Test is a new component of the ACT. The registration fee for the ACT Assessment plus Writing is $44.50 (an extra $14.50). Standby testing for the ACT costs $39.50. To find out if the Writing Test is required, visit the web site or call the admissions office of each college or university to which you plan to apply.

SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test)

The CEEB (College Entrance Examination Board) offers the following tests: SAT I: Reasoning Test, SAT II: Subject Tests, AP (Advance Placement), TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), and CLEP (College-Level Examination Program). Contact your counselor for free-waiver information.

Sat I: Reasoning Test:

The SAT Reasoning Test takes approximately four-hours and measures writing, verbal and mathematical abilities. Students may register for the test by mail or on-line. It is highly recommended that students register on-line at www.collegeboard.com. Students are responsible for the $43.00 registration fee, which should be paid by credit card or check directly to ETS. If you wish to register by phone (only for those who have registered previously are eligible), add $12. An additional $22.00 late, or $37.00 stand-by fee must be added to the $43.00 regular registration fee when a deadline is missed. Registration forms and information are available in the college/career center or online.

The SAT Reasoning Test has a mandatory writing section. Each section is scored separately: math, critical reading (verbal), and writing using the 200-800 scale. The testing time will extend to 3 hours and 20 minutes.

SAT II: Subject Tests:

The SAT II Subject Test are given in a number of academic areas and are used by some colleges for admission and placement purposes. Students may take up to three tests in one session, but they may not take the SAT Reasoning Test and the SAT Subject Tests on the same day. Students must check dates for each test offered. It is recommended that SAT Subject Tests be taken following the completion of the highest level of these courses. The basic Registration/Reporting Fee is $20.00, plus $20.00 for a Language Test with Listening; add $8.00 each for all other Subject Tests. Please note that most colleges do not require SAT Subject Tests.

AP Testing, visit the web site www.collegeboard.com/apstudents or call 1-888-225-5427

CLEP (College-Level Examination Program)

The CLEP is designed to waive courses and grant college-level credit by examination. The cost for a single test is $65.00 plus a non refundable per test administration fee established by each college.
Use the College Board web site www.collegeboard.com/clep to locate a testing center. Then contact the testing center for its service fees and registration procedure.

Testing for Special Needs Students

Students with a documented disability may be eligible for accommodations on SAT, SAT Subject Tests, AP, PSAT and/or ACT. To receive accommodations for testing, students must submit a complete eligibility form and be approved before testing. When testing at a center on a national date, students normally receive up to 50 percent extended time and can use a regular or a large-type test book. Students receiving an accommodation of more than 50 percent extended time or another accommodation such as a reader cannot test at a national center. Contact your child's counselor well in advance of testing for information about the schedule and location of test sites for special accommodations. Both types of accommodations are offered on each national test date. Reminder: It is the student's responsibility to meet with his/her counselor in early September to discuss testing arrangements.
ETS Special Needs Hotline is 1-(609) 771-7137. The web site is www.collegeboard.com/ssd. The ACT web site is www.act.org/aap/disab.

PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary Scholarship Assessment Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test)

The PSAT is a two hour and ten minute exam that measures academic abilities important in college work. It is administered only once during the school year and consists of two 25-minute critical reading sections, two 25-minute math sections, and one 30-minute writing skills section. This test is a practice for students preparing for their first SAT I test. Scores are used to help predict how well a student may do on the SAT I. Only students who take the PSAT as juniors will be considered for the National Merit Scholarship Program, the National Achievement Scholarship Program or the National Hispanic Scholar Awards Program.

Contact your college/career center or counseling office for additional registration information.

High School Assessments

What are the Maryland High School Assessments (HSA)?

Guidance Department: Testing Information