FAQ about the SAT:
The format of the SAT will be changing beginning March 2016. Students will have the opportunity to take the current SAT until January 2016. If you have further questions, please go the College Board website for more information
Should I take the SAT even if I'm not going to go to an American University?
Yes! Many colleges and universities around the world, when they find you have an American Diploma, will ask for your SAT scores.
When should I take an SAT?
The answer depends upon when you need it. I believe that all of our students need practice in the SAT testing environment. So, for practice, you need to take the test at least once well before you need to send your scores off to anyone. For most of our students, that would be the end of 10th grade or the beginning of 11th grade. You also want to take the SAT once, when you know as much as you are going to know before your deadline for admission. For some of our students, that is the fall of 12th grade, for some it is the spring of 12th grade.
How do I know if I passed?
The SAT is used by many different organizations around the world to determine admission. As a result, there is no clear cut pass/fail mark. The average composite score on the SAT is 1500 (500 or so on each subtest). A few schools around the world will tell you a minimum score for admission. A few years ago I had a group of students (not from our school) who believed that breaking 1200 on the SAT would allow them admission to Universities in Egypt. Many schools in the US and Canada will publish the average score for students admitted as freshmen (1350 to 1450). A good many schools in the world publish no data on the SAT scores of admitted students. This, to me, always says that the university is waiting for this year's crop of applicants and will take a certain portion of what they receive.
If you've not had a look at the SAT site in a while, have a look now. They are changing the way you send your scores. You can now be selective.
Measures for Academic Progress (MAP)
All students in grades 2-9 are given the MAP test twice a year (fall and spring). These tests determine your child's instructional level and measures academic growth throughout the school year, and from year to year in Reading, Language Usage, and Mathematics.
Advanced Placement Exams
The first two weeks of May are the time for the AP's. We have students this year taking: Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Calculus. We have a group of students who have been putting in extra study hours since October in hopes of doing well on this very demanding exam.
BYU Courses
We have the largest group ever taking courses online. With each online course comes a paper and pencil exam. Students need to make an appointment with the counselor to take their exams within thirty days of requesting that exam. This will involve Proctor's and shipping fee.
National Honor Society and National Junior Honor Society
As we continue to work towards preparing our ever larger group of High School students to attend colleges and universities YIS will be starting a chapter of the NHS and the NJHS. These are service organizations with an academic focus. There are minimum levels of achievement as well as standards of conduct required for admission to both. They are nationally known for their high standards of admissions and are something that colleges and universities look for in an application.