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Standardized Tests

St. Catherine of Siena Academy provides students with various standardized tests to help prepare each student for college admissions tests. All freshmen, sophomores, and juniors take the PSAT. By taking the PSAT as a freshman and a sophomore, it helps the student prepare for her junior year when the PSAT counts toward qualifying for the National Merit Scholarship Program.

Updates to Standardized Testing - 9/20/2021

SCA will no longer offer the SAT Suite of Assessment to juniors. We will continue to offer the PSAT 9 to freshmen and the PSAT/NMSQT to sophomores and juniors. SCA’s scheduled PSAT testing day is October 13, 2021. In addition to offering the PSAT, SCA will offer the Pre-ACT to juniors and sophomores.  

 SCA upcoming Test Dates 

  • October 13, 2021: PSAT Test Day for 9th, 10th, and 11th graders 
  • October 20, 2021: Pre-ACT for juniors 
  • March 2022: Pre-ACT for Sophomores

Why take the PreACT? Click here to learn more.

Comparing the ACT and the SAT

Things to keep in mind about the SAT and ACT

The  SAT and ACT  generally cover the same topics. Both the ACT and SAT are nationally recognized standardized tests. Most colleges do not prefer one test over the other. Neither the SAT or ACT is harder than the other. Some students do better on one test over the other. This may not be the case for other students.

The best way to decide if taking the SAT, ACT, or both tests is right for you is to take a timed full-length practice test  of each type. SCA will offer juniors the opportunity to take both the PSAT on October 13 and Pre-ACT on October 20. Since the content and style of the SAT and ACT are similar, factors like how students handle time pressure and what types of questions students find most challenging can help juniors determine which test is a better fit.

Here is a brief comparison between the ACT and SAT standardized tests (from The Princeton Review):

Compare the ACT and SAT Test

Test Day Helpful Tips for your STAR

  • It is important for your daughter to get a good night’s sleep and to eat breakfast on test day.
  • Read all the answer choices before marking the answer sheet.
  • Use the test book for scratch work.
  • Work steadily — don’t waste time on hard questions. Come back to them after answering all the easier questions.
  • Check the answer sheet regularly to make sure you’re in the right place.

Students will need to bring the following on test day:

  • At least 2 sharpened number two pencils (mechanical pencils or pens are not permitted)
  • A water bottle
  • A calculator IS allowed for Section 4: Math with Calculator only

Items students should leave at home or in their locker:
If brought, STARS will be required to turn them in before entering the testing room.

  • Cell Phones
  • Smart Watches, fitness bands
  • All electronic device-iPod, iPad, etc.

STARS are given a PSAT practice. Tenth and eleventh-grade Mathematics and English teachers will be reviewing some of the PSAT questions during your daughter’s class within the next few weeks.

The PSAT has two purposes, to prepare students to take the SAT and to qualify juniors for the National Merit and other scholarships. Students can prepare by going to the College Board website (https://www.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt/preparation) Practice tests and sample questions are available. CollegeBoard and Khan Academy also have many tips and helpful suggestions for preparing for the PSAT and SAT.

  • Sophomores and Juniors will need to be in the classroom by 7:45 am and testing will end at approximately 11:00 am.
  • Students that can drive will be able to go home after dismissal.
  • Sophomores and juniors that will need to wait for parent pick up will be dismissed to the dining hall.
  • https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10/practice

Inside the PSAT 9

SCA’s School Code is 233789

College Entrance Exams

Your guide to college entrance exams.
https://www.bestcolleges.com/resources/college-entrance-exams/

SAT 

SAT Official Practice for Free (Khan Academy)
https://www.khanacademy.org/sat?

SAT Tests – including practice SAT questions
http://sat.collegeboard.org/home

SAT Test Dates and Centers
https://sat.collegeboard.org/register/

ACT

ACT Tests
http://www.actstudent.org/

ACT Test Dates and Centers
http://www.actstudent.org/regist/centers/

ACT Test Preparation
http://www.actstudent.org/onlineprep/

ACT College Planning Checklist
http://www.actstudent.org/college/checklist/

“[Teachers] care about the success of each student. They come early to help students and stay after school if necessary. They are a super dedicated faculty.”

SCA Parent

“This place (SCA) is about the best Catholic high school you can go to, in my opinion. The whole school isn’t just a school, but a family where everybody knows everybody. It’s a small enough school for that to be possible-and it’s really awesome! What makes SCA different is the people that make up the SCA family. There are no bullies and no one is mean to you. Everybody looks out for you and your teachers become friends….This place is really close to my heart.”

Alumna, Class of '12

“An excellent school that brings the girls together more like sisters rather than friends.”

Zina

You receive a spiritual hug when you walk through the door at St. Catherine of Siena Academy. Christ is at the center and He is opening up His arms saying “these are your friends, this is your family.” – Erika, SCA Alumnae

Erika

“As a graduate of this school, I can attest to not only the strong education I received from SCA but also the strong foundation I was given in which I could build my own faith upon. I felt fully prepared for the ‘real world’ both academically and spiritually.” 

MaryKatherine

“My family has had an excellent experience at this school so far. Beyond the beautiful new facility, I have been impressed with the teachers and the administration! They challenge the girls both academically and spiritually, they know them by name, and appear to have a genuine concern for each individual student. The school really feels like a family. As a parent, it is a blessing to me to know that my daughter is in such good hands when I drop her off everyday.”

SCA Parent

“I loved every minute at St. Catherine! The friends I made there will always be a part of my family. This school taught me how to be a strong, intelligent, independent woman who is strong in her faith. I am blessed to say I got to experience SCA.”

Alumna, Class of '18

“This school is not only college prep, it is life prep. I know that my daughter is being educated to go out and make a positive difference in the world. She will graduate with the confidence and courage to lead wherever she goes in life. I love the principal, the teachers, and the families. It is such a blessing to be a part of the SCA Family. I know the friends my daughter has made will be her sisters for life.”

SCA Parent

“Another thing I enjoyed about the school was the athletics. I played four different sports at this school and I had the same experience with all of them. The coaches really cared about me, not just how well I was performing and I was treated respectfully on and off the court. Further more, I felt that I was really being pushed physically and mentally during practice which I value in any activity.”

Alumna

“SCA is authentically and unapologetically Catholic. It’s excellence in academics and athletics is rooted in its mission to pass on the beauty of the Catholic faith in a way that is relevant to the modern world. The result is a constant focus on the character and virtue of its students, challenging them to be the best version of themselves not just academically, but spiritually as well.”

SCA Parent