Testing
STANDARDIZED TESTING AT CARDINAL RITTER COLLEGE PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL
KNOW YOUR SCHOOL CODE: 262-975
Standardized testing results supplement the Cardinal Ritter Secondary School Record by providing national norms. For some colleges test results become the most important piece of information which "levels the playing field" among applicants.
Cardinal Ritter students take the ACT. Students are encouraged to take the SAT and the SAT subject tests as needed. Certain strengths are revealed in each; therefore it is to the student's advantage to sit for both tests. Every student completes at least one ACT and one SAT by the end of the junior year. As more students consider Early Decision (ED), Early Action (EA) admission programs, it becomes imperative that students look to October of the senior year for retakes of either the ACT or the SAT. Most students elect to retake some combination of standardized tests in the autumn of the senior year.
The best preparation for standardized tests is consistent work in Cardinal Ritter's curriculum. Again, we emphasize the importance of READING. Vocabulary building and reading comprehension are emphasized across our curriculum. Mathematics and scientific reasoning skills are developed through the mathematics and science curricula. Again, these are standardized tests not intelligence tests.
October October |
GRADE 9 GRADE 10
NATIONAL TESTING TIMELINE
EXPLORE (all students)
PLAN (all students)
GRADE 11
GRADE 12
October | PSAT/NMSQT (all students) |
March | Recommended first SAT I date |
April | ACT date (mandatory for all juniors) |
June | Recommended SAT I or II and ACT |
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October | ACT and SAT I retakes |
November | Possible SAT I or II |
December | Possible ACT, SAT I or SAT II (note: if you are applying ED, EA or EASC to any school this date is too late) |
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TESTS USED FOR COLLEGE ADMISSION, PLACEMENT AND SCHOLARSHIPS
Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School CEEB and ACT Code Number is 262-975
College placement and/or scholarships use the following testing programs to determine admission. Juniors and seniors and occasionally sophomores usually take them. A brief explanation of each test is given below. It is the responsibility of each student to know the required tests and test dates for the colleges he is considering.
In late August of each year, the following information will be available in the Counseling Office or on-line.
♦ deadlines for registration
♦ place of administration and fees
♦ registration material for ACT and SAT exams.
I. ACT Assessment Test
A. PLAN (for tenth-grade students)
♦ The PLAN is a comprehensive assessment program designed to improve the
secondary and post-secondary planning and preparation of students and to enable
schools to assist students and their parents in this important process.
Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School administers the PLAN once a year, in mid-autumn. The PLAN measures academic development in four key subject areas: English; Mathematics; Reading; and Science Reasoning. These four tests are complimentary in content to those of the ACT assessment.
♦ The PLAN also gathers and reports information about students' educational and
career plans, interests, knowledge of effective study techniques, and self-identified
needs for assistance. Information about PLAN results may be obtained from the
college counselors and/or your advisor.
B. ACT Test 11th grade and 12th grade students
♦ The ACT Test is a three-hour test which measures scholastic aptitude in English, mathematics, reading and science reasoning.
♦ The ACT consists of 215 scored questions. English (75 questions, 45 minutes); math (60 questions, 60 minutes); reading (40 questions, 35 minutes); and science reasoning (40 questions, 35 minutes).
♦ There is a short break between the second and third sub-tests.
♦ Beginning in February 2005, the optional ACT Writing Test was offered. Students who are planning to enter college in the fall of 2006 may be required by certain colleges to take the Writing Test. Cardinal Ritter students should take the optional writing exam. A Writing Test sub-score ranges from 2-12. Each essay is scored independently by two raters on a six-point scale. The two scores are added for the sub-score. The score is reported as a combined English/ Writing Score.
♦ Registration is available online (act.org) or forms are available in the Director of Guidance Office.
♦ All students are required to take the ACT in the spring of their junior
year. The students complete the form in the fall and it is mailed to ACT. The parents are responsible for [payment to receive their test results. The onus is on the student to ensure that they are registered. Students must take the Writing option. The total fee for the writing and the regular testing is $46.00.
$31.00 Basic registration fee
Includes reports for you, your high school, and up to four colleges requested at registration.
+ $9.00 each 5th and 6th college choices
Requested as part of registration; refundable if you do not test. Find out how much it costs to send your scores after you've tested.
+ $15.00 Optional Writing Test
The $14.00 Writing Test fee is refundable if you are absent on test day or you remove the Writing Test option before you begin testing.
+ $20.00 Late fee
+ $20.00 Test date change
For different date if absent on original date. If you request a test date change after the regular deadline for the new date, a late fee also applies.
+ $20.00 Test center change
For the same date.
+ $40.00 Standby testing on test day
+ $12.00 Telephone registration for repeat test takers
Receive immediate confirmation of your test center.
+ $22.00 Test outside the 50 United States
The optional Writing Test is available outside the 50 United States only on the October and April test dates.
+ $9.00 Viewing scores early
+ $16.00 Test information release service
On selected national test dates; refundable if not available.
♦ The test is not administered at Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School
II. College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) - The College Entrance Examination Board offers the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, the SAT I: Reasoning Test, the SAT II: Subject Tests; Advanced Placement Examinations; and the College Level Examination Program.
A. Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). For
11th grade students
♦ Sophomores and juniors take this test on a Tuesday in October. Sophomores are not eligible for National Merit Scholarships and take the exam for practice only.
♦ The test is administered at Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School.
♦ This is a two-hour ten-minute version of the SAT I: Reasoning Test, measuring verbal reasoning, mathematical reasoning and writing skills important for college work. The test is recommended for use by secondary schools in guiding students who plan to continue their education and/or seek recognition and financial assistance through scholarship programs administered by National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
♦ The test consists of critical reading (two 25 minute sections; analogies have been eliminated; sentence completion, and critical reading passages are still part of the exam); mathematical reasoning (two 25 minute sections; math content will be enhanced; quantitative comparisons will be eliminated; ten student produced
responses to questions); writing skills (one 30 minute section; identifying sentence errors, improving sentences, improving paragraphs).
♦ The Selection Index is used for National Merit Scholarship purposes and includes the verbal, math and writing scores. The score range is 60 -240.
B. NEW SAT I: Reasoning Test (March Of 2005) 11th and 12th grade
♦ This is a three-hour thirty-five minute test designed to measure how well students have developed their writing, mathematical, and critical reading skills considered necessary for success in college.
♦ Registration is available on line (collegeboard.com) or forms are available in the College Counseling Office.
♦ The test is not administered at Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School.
♦ The basic test fee beginning March 2005 is $41.50. This fee will remain in effect for the remainder of the 2004-2005 school year.
♦ The test format consists of a Writing Section (50 to 55 minutes that includes grammar, usage, and word choice. Multiple-choice questions and a Student-written essay will be required.) Math Section (70 minutes-two 25 minute sections and one 20 minute section that will require a knowledge of number and operations; Algebra I & II and Functions; Geometry; Statistics, Probability, and Data Analysis. Five-choice multiple-choice questions and Student produced responses will be required.) Critical Reading Section (70 minutes-two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section. The content will be Critical reading and sentence level reading that stresses reading comprehension, sentence completions and paragraph length critical reading.)
♦ Range of scores for each of the three sections is between 200-800. Totaled-
scaled scores range from 600 to 2400. Students receive one point for each correct
response and lose a fraction of a point for each incorrect response (except for
student produced responses).
SAT II: Subject Tests
♦ These are one-hour tests designed to measure a student's level of achievement in various subject fields. Students may take one, two or three tests during any one session. Some colleges require them for admission and/or placement in freshman courses.
♦ Registration forms are available in the College Counseling Office or on-line.
♦ The tests are not administered at Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School.
♦ The basic test fee is $18.00 for one exam and $8.00 for each additional test. A student may take up to three exams on any one test date.
♦ The dates for test administration are October, November, December, January, May and June. (Juniors usually take SAT II: Subject Tests in May or June if they will terminate a sequence of courses at the end of that year, plan early graduation, or consider early decision. that seniors take SAT II Subject Tests in October, November or December. A very careful check of college catalogs is necessary to determine the precise requirement. Some tests are given only on certain dates. It is recommended that students discuss date and choice of tests with their college counselor before registration.
College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
♦ The College-Level Examination Program enables students to earn college credit for what they already know, whether it was learned in school, through independent study, or other experiences outside of the classroom.
♦ More than 2,800 colleges and universities now award credit for qualifying scores on one or more of the thirty-four CLEP exams.
♦ The exams, 90 minutes in length and primarily multiple-choice, are administered at participating colleges and universities. For more information, check out the web site at:
http://www.colleqeboard.org/clep/students/html/student.html
III. EXPLORE for 9th graders
EXPLORE gives students, teachers, and counselors the early feedback they need to plan an appropriate curriculum for the pre-college years. It is among the few tests for students in Grades 9 and 10 that reliably predicts performance on college admissions tests such as the ACT
Easy-to-read graphic score reports provide tools for individual counseling and career guidance. Reported data are EXPLORE Standard Scores, National Percentiles, College-Bound Percentiles, Local Percentiles, Skill Area Ratios, and Percent-Correct Data.
