The ABC’s About the
SAT’s
And What About the ACT’s?
SAT Overview
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3 hours and 45 minutes
Includes Critical Reading, Math, Writing
10 sections: 3 CR, 3 M, 3 Wr, and 1 experimental
25 minute essay—comes first
10 min multiple choice Writing section —comes
last
Five 25 min and two 20 min sections: 3 Critical
Reading, 3 Math, 1 Writing
Test booklets differ from student to student
Scoring:
Critical Reading, Math, Writing each 200800
 Writing: 2 subscores
 Essay: 1-6, 2 readers, total 2-12
 Writing multiple choice: 20-80
 Total: 2400
 Most colleges still using CR+M score up to
1600 and consider Writing separately
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The Writing Section
Multiple Choice Questions
 Improving
sentences (25 questions)
 Identifying
sentence errors (18
 Improving
paragraphs (6 questions)
questions)
Improving Sentences:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Laura Ingalls Wilder published her first
book and she was sixty-five then.
and she was sixty-five years old then
when she was sixty-five
at age sixty-five years old
upon the reaching of sixty-five years
at the time when she was sixty-five
Writing Test: Essay—prompt and
assignment
Prompt:
A sense of happiness and fulfillment, not personal
gain, is the best motivation and reward for one’s
achievements. Expecting a reward of wealth or
recognition for achieving a goal can lead to
disappointment and frustration. If we want to be
happy in what we do in life, we should not seek
achievement for the sake of winning wealth and
fame. The personal satisfaction of a job well done
is its own reward.
Assignment:
Are people motivated to achieve by personal
satisfaction rather than by money or fame?
Plan and write an essay in which you
develop your point of view on this issue.
Support your position with reasoning and
examples taken from your reading, studies,
experience, or observations.
Critical Reading:
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Sentence Completions (19 questions)
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Passage-based Reading (48 questions)
Sentence Completions:
Hoping to _______the dispute, negotiators proposed
a compromise that they felt would be ______to
both labor and management.
A. enforce..useful
B. end..divisive
C. overcome..unattractive
D. extend..satisfactory
E. resolve..acceptable
Paragraph-based reading:
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Vocabulary in context
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Literal comprehension
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Extended reasoning: measure ability to
synthesize and analyze information as well
as to evaluate assumptions made and the
techniques used by the author.
Extended reasoning:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
The narrator would most likely describe Mr.
Jordan’s conduct during the evening as
typically generous
justifiably impatient
passionate and irrational
patronizing and self-centered
concerned and gentle
The Math Section:
Contains two types of questions:
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Standard multiple-choice (44 questions)
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Student-produced response questions that provide
no answer choices (10 questions)
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Calculators can be used.
Math Section Content:
Arithmetic
Algebra
1
Geometry
Algebra 2
Examples:
1.
If 4(t + u)+ 3= 19, then
t+u=
A. 3
B. 4
C. 5
D. 6
E. 7
2.
Marbles are to be
removed from a jar that
contains 12 red marbles
and 12 black marbles.
What is the least number
of marbles that could be
removed so that the ratio
of red marbles to black
marbles left in the jar will
be 4 to 3?
It’s free…
The Official Online SAT Prep Course offered
by the College Board is free courtesy of
MCPS.
 Go to
www.collegeboard.com/satonlinecourseschool
 In the “Students” box click “Register Now”
 B-CC student access codes are available in
the counseling office.
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Montgomery College/MCPS
SAT Prep Classes
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Spring schedule prepares for following SAT test
dates: March 14, May 2, June 6
Registration begins Dec. 15, 2008
Meets at MCPS high schools two afternoons or
Saturdays for 4 to 5 weeks
Brochure in all MCPS high schools
Info on Montgomery College web site. Go to
www.montgomerycollege.edu/wdce
Cost: $275 and students must purchase textbook,
“The Official SAT Study Guide for the New
SAT”
The ACT
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English Test
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75 items, 45 minutes
Punctuation
Grammar and usage
Sentence structure
strategy
organization
style
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Reading Test
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40 items, 35 minutes
Selections:
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Social Studies
Natural Sciences
Prose Fiction
Humanities
The ACT
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Mathematics Test
60 items, 60 minutes
Algebra 1 and 2
Geometry
Trigonometry
Science Reasoning Test
 40 items, 45 minutes
 Science Information
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Data Representation
Research Summaries
Conflicting Viewpoints
ACT Scores
Each section of the ACT is scored from a
low of 1 to a high of 36.
 The composite score is comprised of the
average of the four sections’ scores. The
composite score also expressed in the range
of 1 to 36.
 Many colleges accept the ACT in lieu of the
SAT Subject Tests. Check with individual
colleges.
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ACT Optional Writing Section:
Not required
 Administered at the end
 Very similar to SAT Writing
 Essay graded 2-12 after two readings
 Scored 1-36, which is based on combination
of English section and essay.
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SAT Subject Tests (formerly
SAT 2’s)
 Designed
to measure knowledge in
particular subject areas.
 Duration: one hour
 Format: multiple choice
 Students can take up to 3 subject tests at
one administration.
 Cannot be taken at the same administration
as the SAT Reasoning Test.
More on the SAT Subject Tests…
Many colleges do not require.
Most public colleges to do not require.
Check each individual school to see if required, and
how many are required. Three is the maximum.
 Most students take at the end of 11th or beginning
of 12th grade.
 Take after the completion of most rigorous course in
that subject area.
 Many colleges so not require subject tests if you
take the ACT.
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Students with Disabilities
Students with documented disabilities may be
eligible for accommodations on both the SAT’s and
the ACT’s.
 Forms to request accommodations on the SAT’s
and the ACT’s are available in the counseling
office.
 Contact your child’s counselor right away if you
believe your child is entitled to accommodations.
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Accuplacer:
Test used for placement at Montgomery
College
 Untimed
 Multiple Choice
 Taken on computer
 Adaptive test
 Three sections: reading comprehension,
sentence skills, math
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Accuplacer self-prep
www.studyguidezone.com Information plus
study guide book
 www.montgomerycollege.edu>Admissions>
Other>Placement and Assessment
 www.collegeboard.com>Seach>Accuplacer
 Google>Accuplacer
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How Do Colleges Select
Students?
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High school grades/class rank
Rigor of program
Standardized test scores
Recommendations
Essays
Interviews
Special talents
Extracurricular activities
Other
FairTest
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Provides a list of accredited, four-year
colleges and universities that deemphasize
the use of standarized tests in admissions
decisions
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www.fairtest.org