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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.

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.

Test Day Timelines

  • 9th Grade
    • Freshmen will need to be in the classroom by 7:45 AM and testing will end at approximately 10:40 AM (give or take a few minutes)
    • After testing, all freshmen will go to the gym to participate in the Freshmen Halloween Movie Party hosted by Mrs. Houbeck.
  • 10th and 11th graders
    • Sophomores and Juniors will need to be in the classroom by 7:45 AM and testing will end at approximately 11 AM (give or take a few minutes)
    • Student that can drive will be able to go home after dismissal. Students that will need to wait for parent pick up, sophomores will be dismissed to the dining hall and juniors to the atrium.
  • 12th Graders
    • Senior will need to be in the classroom by 7:45 AM and testing will end at approximately 12:10PM (give or take a few minutes)
    • You will be able to go home after dismissal.

PSAT/NMSQT and PSAT 10  Practice Test & More:

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 that will need to wait for parent pick up will be dismissed to the dining hall.
  • Juniors that will need to wait for parent pick up will be dismissed to the atrium.
  • https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10/practice

Inside the PSAT 9

SCA’s School Code is 233789

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/

“This high school experience is like none other you can get anywhere. There is joy and comradery and the girls are happy and excel. They are being supported and encouraged by staff. You can watch a girl come in who had a bad experience elsewhere, bloom here and become a different girl in a short time. Can’t say enough good about it. Thank God the founders had this vision and followed through with it. Well needed and we are very thankful!”

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

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

“An excellent community for families that want to stay involved!”

Leighanne

“[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

“An excellent community for families that want to stay involved! Everyone has a different opinion and all students, staff, and faculty are respectful of it. I have never been in an environment that was so inviting and welcoming. It is easy to find a home in this school because the staff genuinely care about you and want you to succeed. It really is a beautiful place and a great experience. I am very lucky to have gone through high school there.”

Alumna

“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

“I was among one of the very first classes SCA ever had. As a pioneer and a student to be a part of the foundation of clubs and classes that continue today, I am beyond proud of how far the school has come. There were many ups and downs during my four years but an amazing experience overall. Today at college I still look back on and cherish my times at SCA, thankful for the connections, education and sisterhood I acquired. I am looking forward to seeing many more young women carry on the traditions my class and recent classes have set for the future.”

Alumna, Class of '14

“The school lives up to their mission statement by unlocking the feminine genius in the girls who go there and providing us with the opportunity to discover who we are meant to be.”

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

SCA Summer Office Hours
Tuesday – Thursday, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm, by appointment only.