How to think about college: Standardized Exams (SAT/ACT)

This is is the third in a series of posts Tokyo Academics is writing about the college applications process. We're doing this in an effort to cut through what we see is a lot of noise about the process!

1. Overview
2. What are colleges looking for?
3. SAT/ACT – When and how should you think about them?
4. GPA – When and how should you think about it?
5. What is the X factor?
6. The admissions essay
7. Recommendations
8. School fit
9. How to think about the right major
10. School visits
11. Study habits

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Before we deep-dive into standardized exams, we at Tokyo Academics wanted to note a few things.
We fully agree that standardized examinations don’t measure true academic ability. Colleges also take into account also character-based academic strengths which cannot be shown in tests – standardized exams aren’t even close everything!

These tests also aren’t fully objective – they're skewed toward students who are representative of traits dominant in American society (in terms of gender, race, economic standing, cultural upbringing etc.). A particularly egregious example (from test prep materials) is:

We are aware of the debates about what it really measures and whether they are a useful tool to assess students. However, there's still no viable substitute and they’re something we all have to live with. This being said, there are five key tests (and test types) you will see: ​

Not a score used by schools, but should be considered practice for later standardized examinations.

Time frame: Typically in 10th grade; administered once a year in October.
Content

• Shortened version of SAT I, not required by colleges
• Can be considered practice before your SAT I
• Tests verbal, math and writing skills on a 20 to 80 point scale.
• Scores for students in 11th grade are automatically entered into the National Merit Competition and 50,000 with the highest scores will become National Merit Semi-finalists or National Merit Commended Scholars 

The big one – this is the most popular standardized examination, and is the one with the widest overall acceptance (though the ACT is basically at the same level at this point). Ideally you’ll get this out of the way early in your Junior year so that you can focus on AP and SAT II tests in the second half of the year.

​Content

• Predominantly multiple choice test that attempts to predict a student's first year college grades
• Lasts 3 hours; consists of a math and an integrated reading/writing section, each on scale from 200 to 800.
• Calculators allowed but not provided, so bring one yourself

Recommended approach

• Give yourself three opportunities to take the real SAT I. 
• The more you practice, the higher score you will achieve - you can find practice tests all over the place, whether in books, online, or elsewhere (try Google)
• Give yourselves 5-6 months at the minimum (for example, prepare intensively starting in December or January of your junior year and continue until the May test)

How it’s used

• Colleges usually take the highest individual math and integrated reading/writing section scores (even if they happened on different dates), although they receive your entire testing history.
• High grades don't guarantee you will breeze through SAT I; similarly, high SAT I scores don't guarantee admission to a top college. Hard work and dedication mean more to admission board than your scores alone.

An option to the SAT I and II - just about equivalent to the SAT in its acceptance by schools. Taking the ACT sometimes allows you to skip taking SAT IIs, depending on the school. This is much more of a reading-intensive test than the SAT – it has only 1 math section (out of 4) compared to the SAT’s 50/50 split. If you're a little stronger on Verbal than Math, consider looking at the SAT.
 
Content

• Multi-section test on English, reading, mathematics and natural sciences
• Each section is scored from 1 to 36; you will also receive a composite score (also out of 36)

Preparation
Similar timeline and approach to the SAT I (give yourself 5-6 months at the minimum)

How it’s used

• Most colleges will accept either SAT I or ACT - there is no distinct advantage of one over the other; there are more preparation options for SAT I than for ACT, but some students find ACT slightly easier to take. 
• If a school you are applying to doesn't require standardized test scores, only send them if they're excellent. If you submit both SAT I and ACT scores, the college will use the one reflecting higher achievement.

Additional standardized subject tests requested by schools. It's best to take SAT IIs right after you finished your coursework on a tested subject - usually in June, but also in December or January for fall semester courses. 

Content: Lasts 1 hour; tests specific subject areas on a scale from 200 to 800 for each test

Tested Subjects

• English: Literature, Writing;
• History: U.S. History, World History;
• Languages: Chinese with Listening, Japanese with Listening, Korean with Listening, French, French with Listening, Latin, German, German with Listening, Spanish, Spanish with Listening, Modern Hebrew, Italian, English Language Proficiency;
• Mathematics: Level IC, Level IIC;
• Science: Biology E/M, Chemistry, Physics.

How it’s used

• Different colleges may have different requirements – check before you decide which test to take.
• SAT II scores might be weighed more than SAT I scores – check each college’s policy
• Most schools require writing, math and another test of your choice, but many students applying to top colleges send in more than 3 SAT II scores.

Recommended approach

• Plan ahead. You can only take three SAT II tests on the same date and not all the tests are available on a given date. It's also impossible to take SAT I and SAT IIs on the same day.
• You can't choose which SAT IIs scores to send: colleges will see all of them, so be prepared for every SAT II you take.

Content: College level classes and tests geared for high school students with examinations taking place in May.

How it’s used

• Those courses are not required by colleges, but colleges expect students to be taking the most difficult curriculum they feel comfortable with, often AP classes
• You can earn 3-5 units of college credit based on your score.
• International Baccalaureate courses are comparable to AP courses in terms of difficulty and how they’re perceived by colleges

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Lastly, a few words about timing. Above is the previously-posted timeline Tokyo Academics uses for student planning. It can be as busy as you'd like, or it can be as easy as you'd like. The main thing to keep in mind is to try not to have too many tests occurring at the same time. Finish and lock down your SAT (or ACT) studying and take the test as early as you can (early in Junior year!), so you can switch your concentration to AP and SAT II exams. 
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