An Overview of the Required Tests

An Overview of the Required Tests SAT, ACT, TOEFL, IELTS February 2008 Doha, Qatar

Admission TestsSATACT English Language Proficiency TestsTOEFLIELTS

Presenters • Carol Blythe – SAT • Patrick Bourgeacq – ACT • Terry Axe – TOEFL • Craig McWilliam - IELTS

SAT Carol BlytheInterim DirectorOffice of International EducationWashington, DC

Overview • The SAT is a university admission test that measures the critical thinking and problem solving skills that are learned in high school and important for success in college. • It is made up of 3 parts: • Writing • Mathematics • Critical Reading

Overview • There are 6 International test dates per year • October, November, December, January, May and June • Fees • SAT Reasoning Test………………$45 • International Processing Fee……..$25 • Register on the Web………...……..FREE www.collegeboard.com

Format

Format The SAT has 10 total testing sections. • The first section is always a 25-minute essay • The last section is always a 10-minute multiple-choice writing section. • Sections two through seven are 25-minute sections. • Sections eight and nine are 20-minute sections. • Test-takers sitting next to each other in the same session may have test books with entirely different content orders for sections two through nine (math, critical reading, and writing).

Format (Writing Section) The writing section: • The SAT begins with an essay. You'll be asked to present and support a point of view on a specific issue. Because you have only 25 minutes, your essay is not expected to be polished—it is meant to be a first draft. • The SAT writing section also includes three types of multiple-choice questions: • Improving sentences (25 questions) • Identifying sentence errors (18 questions) • Improving paragraphs (6 questions)

Format (Writing Section) • Time • 60 min. • Content • Grammar, usage, and word choice • Item Types • Multiple choice questions (35 min.) and student-written essay (25 min.) • Score • 200-800

Format (Critical Reading) • Time • 70 min. (two 25-min. sections and one 20-min. section) • Content • Critical reading and sentence-level reading • Item Types • Reading comprehension, sentence completions, and paragraph-length critical reading • Score • 200-800

Format (Mathematics) • Time • 70 min. (two 25-min. sections and one 20-min. section) • Content • Number and operations; algebra and functions; geometry; statistics, probability, and data analysis • Item Types • Five-choice multiple-choice questions and student-produced responses • Score • 200-800

Format (Time) • The total testing time for the SAT is 3 hours and 45 minutes—not including breaks, check-in time, and pre-administration activities. The total time you should plan on being at the test center is approximately five hours.

When should you take the SAT? • Students need to plan to take the test so that the results reach the university by the university application deadline. • Many students take the test in May or June of their Junior year (Grade 11) • Students might also take the test in October, November, or December of their senior year (Grade 12)

Why do colleges value the SAT? • Helps them overcome the challenges of unequal opportunities, variable standards and grade inflation. • Provides a valid, nationally consistent measure of what students have learned and how well they apply that knowledge. • Helps colleges match the right student with the right institution to maximize student success.

Colleges’ Use of Scores • SAT adds more value to student transcripts and other admission information • High correlation between SAT scores and college success • SAT writing section used in admission and placement

Preparation Tips • Become familiar with the test • If available take PSAT or PSSS • Challenge yourself with a rigorous high school curriculum. • Take an official SAT practice test (on-line, preparation booklet…) • Reinforce your test-taking skills • Learn which areas need additional study • Practice with the same directions found on the actual SAT • Understand how to complete the grid-in, student-produced response section

Free Test Preparation Tips • www.collegeboard.com • Official SAT Practice Questions • The Official SAT Question of the Day™Practice with a daily question, hint, and explanation. • Official SAT Practice TestPrint and take a practice test, then get a score report and answer explanations.

Other Test Preparation Tips The Official SAT Online Course™ The online course features: • Six official SAT practice tests • Answer explanations for every question • Interactive instruction • Immediate essay scoring • Price $69.95 • The Official SAT Study Guide™ • Price $19.95

Coming soon in May 2008SAT Skills Map • The SAT Skills Map is a free, online resource that shows students exactly the types of skills that are tested on the SAT. • The SAT Skills Map shows students how specific academic skills yield specific scores, and provides sample SAT questions and answers for skills that are taught in high school and measured on the SAT. • The SAT Skills Map shows students which skills they can sharpen to do better in school, on the test, and in college.

Scores • The SAT has three scores, each on the scale of 200 to 800. • Your score includes writing (W 200-800), mathematics (M 200-800), and critical reading (CR 200-800). • Two subscores are given for the writing section: a multiple-choice subscore on a scale of 20-80, and an essay subscore on a scale of 2-12.

Scores The SAT Online Score Report • The SAT online score report is available free to every student who takes the SAT—all you need is a free collegeboard.com account. • While you'll still receive your SAT score report in the mail, the SAT online score report contains additional features to help you understand your SAT scores. • Fall 2007: the SAT online score report now shows you more about how you performed on each section of the SAT Reasoning Test™. It gives you the types of questions, level of difficulty, and how many in each group of questions you answered correctly, incorrectly, or omitted. Percentile information has also been enhanced to give you better comparisons with other groups of test-takers.

Student’s Score Report

Scores Sending SAT Scores • In addition to the score reports you chose to send when you registered for the SAT, you can send scores to other colleges and scholarship programs for an additional fee. We will report scores that are available and reportable at the time your request is received. • Only score reports from completed and scored tests will be sent. You can only send scores that appear next to test dates on your SAT Status page. Scores from future tests for which you have registered, but have not yet completed, will not be included. • Scores are mailed to you, and the additional colleges and programs requested, approximately four weeks after we process your request. Please remember that an additional week may be needed for the score recipients to process your scores, once they receive them. • Rush reporting is available for an additional fee. Rush scores are sent two business days after your request is received. Be sure to check with the institutions before requesting this service: not all colleges can accept rush reporting. • Remember, most colleges and universities require official score reports sent from the College Board. Additional Information Your official printed score report will be mailed to you, your high school, and to colleges and scholarship programs designated on your Registration Form about five weeks after the test. • You may also get your SAT scores with Scores by Phone. An additional fee applies.

Contacts • www.collegeboard.com • sat@info.collegeboard.org • 212-713-3389 (phone number)

College-Entrance Exam For Entry into U.S. Colleges and Universities Patrick Bourgeacq Director, International Service Relationships ACT, Inc. Iowa City, Iowa USA

OverviewWhat is “the ACT”? • The ACT is a college-entrance exam. • It is used by colleges and universities in the United States and elsewhere. • They use it to evaluate applicants to their institutions, as well as to place incoming students in first-year courses of appropriate difficulty.

OverviewWhat Does the ACT Measure? • The ACT measures a student’s ability to perform university-level work. • It contains five curriculum-based tests: English, Mathematics, Reading, Science, and Writing. • Because the ACT is curriculum based, performance on these five tests has a direct relationship to a student’s educational achievement. • In short, the ACT measures what students are learning in high school and what they are expected to know when entering university.

OverviewPhilosophy Behind the ACT The ACT is based on the philosophy that the best way to measure students’ readiness for postsecondary education is to measure as directly as possible the knowledge and skills students will need to perform university-level work. ACT chose to focus on the curriculum for the exam because these are skills that students can learn.

The ACT has Two Parts Format • The Multiple-Choice Exam • The Optional Writing Exam Exam Duration • Total testing time for the multiple-choice exam is 2 hours and 55 minutes. • Total testing time for the optional Writing exam is 30 minutes.

FormatCost to Take the ACT • The ACT (just multiple choice) – US$30.00 • The “ACT Plus Writing” – US$44.50 Note: If taken outside the US and Canada, an international surcharge of US$22.00 applies.

FormatMultiple-Choice Exam • The multiple-choice exam covers the following content areas: • English • Mathematics • Reading • Science Reasoning • The four multiple-choice tests are scored individually (1-36) and as an overall Composite score (also 1-36) • The Composite score is the average of the scores from the four individual multiple-choice tests.

FormatACT English Test • Measures understanding of standard written English (punctuation, grammar & usage, sentence structure). • Measures rhetorical skills (strategy, organization, style). • Spelling, vocabulary, and rote recall of rules of grammar are not tested. 75 questions, 45 minutes • Usage/Mechanics • Punctuation (10 questions) • Grammar and Usage (12 questions) • Sentence Structure (18 questions) • Rhetorical Skills • Strategy (12 questions) • Organization (11 questions) • Style (12 questions)

FormatACT Math Test • Measures the math skills students typically acquire in courses taken up to the start of their last year in secondary school. • Requires students to use reasoning skills to solve practical problems in math. • Assumes knowledge of basic formulas and computational skills, but does not require memorization of complex formulas or extensive calculation. • Calculators are permitted. 60 questions, 60 minutes • Pre-Algebra (14 questions) • Elementary Algebra (10 questions) • Intermediate Algebra (9 questions) • Coordinate Geometry (9 questions) • Plane Geometry (14 questions) • Trigonometry (4 questions)

FormatACT Reading Test • Measures reading comprehension as a product of referring and reasoning skills. • Requires students to derive meaning from texts by (1) referring to what was explicitly stated in the text, and (2) reasoning to find implicit meanings. • Uses four prose passages representative of the level and types of writing encountered in first-year university study. 40 questions, 35 minutes • Prose Fiction (10 questions) • Humanities (10 questions) • Social Studies (10 questions) • Natural Sciences (10 questions)

FormatACT Science Test • Measures the student’s interpretation, analysis, evaluation, reasoning, and problem solving skills required in the natural sciences. • Four content areas are covered: (1) Biology, (2) Earth/Space Sciences, (3) Chemistry, and (4) Physics. • 40 questions, 35 minutes • Three stimulus formats are used to present information for students to react to: • Data Representation (15 questions) • Research Summaries (18 questions) • Conflicting Viewpoints (7 questions)

FormatACT Writing Test (Optional) • In addition to the standard multiple-choice exam, students also have the option of taking the ACT Writing Test. • Measures writing skills emphasized in high school English classes and in entry-level university composition courses. • One prompt, 30 minutes • The prompt defines an issue and describes two points of view on that issue. • Students are asked to write in English about their position on that issue.

FormatWhy is the ACT Writing Test Optional? • It’s optional because not all colleges and universities use it. • Before deciding whether to take the ACT Writing Test, students can go to www.actstudent.org to find out if the institutions they are applying to require or recommend it.

Importance of the ACT to Universities The ACT is used by every 4-year college and university in the United States. In addition to admissions, the ACT is used for— • Student recruitment • Academic advising • Freshman course placement decisions • Awarding course credit, especially for English and Math courses • Awarding scholarships • Talent identification

When Should StudentsTake the ACT? • Students should consider taking it during the Spring semester of their 11th grade, as they will likely have taken the necessary ACT subject material in school by that time. • Testing in 11th grade gives them enough time to re-test if their scores aren’t what they had hoped for. • Spring ACT test dates are in February, April, and June. • Also note that the optional Writing test is currently offered internationally in April and in October.

When Should StudentsTake the ACT?Available International ACTTest Dates • The ACT is offered internationally in October, December, February, April, and June. • Students wishing to take the ACT should go to www.actstudent.org to see exact dates and locations.

How to Preparefor the ACTGeneral Preparation Since the ACT is a curriculum-based exam, it is ACT’s belief that the best way to prepare for the test is to take challenging courses in school and to work hard in those courses to learn the material. Specific Preparation • Students will also find it helpful to take a practice test to familiarize themselves with the structure and organization of the ACT and the types of questions they will see. • ACT offers a free sample test in the booklet “Preparing for the ACT,” which we send to all guidance counselors who request it, free of charge. Students can also download it at www.actstudent.org/testprep/index.html. • Students can find many free sample questions for each of the four multiple-choice tests by going to www.actstudent.org/sampletest/index.html. • Students can find a free sample Writing prompt and sample responses by going to www.actstudent.org/writing/sample/index.html.

How to Preparefor the ACTACT Prep Materials for Purchase In addition to the free materials described in the earlier slide, ACT also offers the following two additional test prep materials for purchase: • “The Real ACT Prep Guide” • “ACT Online Prep”

“The Real ACT Prep Guide” • Three practice tests used in previous actual test administrations—each with an optional Writing Test • Explanations for all right and wrong answer choices • An in-depth look at the optional Writing Test and how it is scored • Valuable test-taking strategies for each test section: English, Mathematics, Reading, Science, and the optional Writing • All you need to know about the ACT—formatting, structure, registration, and how colleges interpret your scores • A review of important topics in English, math, science, and writing • How to prepare—physically, mentally, and emotionally—for test day • Price: $25.00

“ACT Online Prep” • Practice tests with real ACT test questions • Practice essays for the new optional ACT Writing Test, with real-time scoring • Comprehensive content review for each of the ACT's four required tests—English, Math, Reading, and Science • Diagnostic test and personalized Study Path • Anywhere, anytime access via the Internet • Price: $19.95

ACT Test-Taking Tips • Pace yourself – don’t spend too much time on a single passage or question. • Answer the easy questions first, then go back and answer the more difficult ones. • Answer every question. Scores on the ACT multiple-choice tests are based on the number of questions you answer correctly. There is no penalty for guessing. • Go to www.actstudent.org/testprep/tips/index.html for many more test taking tips.

UnderstandingYour ACT Scores

UnderstandingYour ACT Scores The composite score is the average of your scores on the four multiple-choice subject area tests, rounded to the nearest whole number. (If you left any multiple-choice test completely blank, no Composite score is computed.) Your rank is expressed in numeric and graph form as the percentage of ACT-tested students the same as or lower than your score in your state and in the U.S.

UnderstandingYour ACT Scores This section shows your scores on each of the multiple-choice subject area tests and your associated subscores. Subscores give you information about your specific strengths and weaknesses in the areas these tests cover. The subscores are computed separately; there is no arithmetic relationship between subscores and a test score (i.e., the test score is not the sum of the subscores). If you left any multiple-choice test completely blank, that test score is reported as a dash (--). The graph represents your ranks, expressed as the percent of ACT-tested high school students in the U.S. who scored the same as or lower than your scores on the multiple-choice subject area tests and your subscores. These ranks allow you to compare your scores to others.

An Overview of the Required Tests