Category Archives: Standardized Testing

The SAT’s Lesser Known Cousins: SAT Subject Tests

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Every high school student knows the importance of the main college admissions tests, the SAT and the ACT. Students understand how vital these tests are to the college admissions process, and they prepare accordingly. But many students do not know about the SAT’s lesser known cousin, the SAT Subject Tests. These tests are less popular, but can provide an essential boost to college applications, especially for students enrolled in alternative academic programs, such as homeschooled students or International Baccalaureate (IB) students.

What are SAT Subject Tests?

SAT Subject Tests, also known as SAT IIs, are hour-long multiple choice tests offered in 21 subject areas. The subjects include English, math, science, history, and languages. Unlike Advanced Placement exams and IB exams, SAT Subject Tests are offered throughout the year on the same testing dates as the SAT Reasoning Test. Continue reading →

Do Standardized Tests Kill Reading Skills?

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As the number of students that take standardized tests rises, the number of parents criticizing these tests is also rising…

Nearly every standardized test includes a reading component. On the typical test, students are asked to read a small selection or excerpt and then answer a short series of multiple choice questions about the material. On the surface, this methodology makes sense: By having students read a selection and answer questions about it, we can determine their reading comprehension abilities in order to measure improvement.

But what if this method is killing the art of reading?

In a recent New York Times article, two parents argue that our standardized testing methods are disastrous to students. Their anger with standardized testing came on New Year’s Eve when they and some friends of theirs decided to take the practice English test that their son had been assigned for homework. Since 3 of the 4 parents were PhDs, they were pretty confident that they’d be able to pass the test with flying colors. Instead, they never made it past the first question: Continue reading →