What are SAT Subject Tests?

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SAT subject tests measure your mastery of a particular subject and test your ability to use that knowledge. The tests are not connected to particular textbook publishers nor do they favor one teaching method over another. However, the test make-up does reflect the best practices in teaching and learning.

Before you decide which tests to take, you might want to consider several things:
What are you good at?
What do the colleges you are applying to want?

If, for example, a college may waive a basic course requirement your freshman year because you do well on a subject test, by all means, take the test.

You may also want to take the test if you think that it will give you a stronger profile when the college looks at your file.

The tests are offered on all testing dates except March, so you can begin to arrange your preparation for review around them.

On our Website, you are able to prepare for the following tests

• United States History
• Mathematics Level 1
• Mathematics Level 2
• Biology E/M
• Chemistry
• Physics

United States History

The only way to adequately prepare is to take a two-semester course in American History, beginning with the discovery of America and ending with the 21st Century. The test is scored from 200-800.

Questions may be presented individually or in sets if they apply to a chart, map, graph, or long reading.

The types of questions on the test and the abilities they measure include your knowledge of facts, terms, and concepts. They also measure your ability to recall basic information, understand its significance, and your ability to draw generalizations from it.

Mathematics

There are two 1 hour tests in mathematics: Mathematics Level 1 and Level 2. The purpose of these tests is to measure your knowledge of mathematics through college preparatory mathematics for Level 1 and pre-calculus for Level 2.

Mathematics Level 1

Mathematics Level 1 is a 50 question multiple-choice test that tests your knowledge in the following areas: numbers and operations; algebra and functions; geometry and measurement (plane Euclidean, coordinate, three-dimensional, and trigonometry); data analysis, statistics, and probability.

The only way to adequately prepare is to take three years of college-preparatory mathematics, including two years of algebra and one year of geometry. You will be expected to have studied every topic on the test. It is a good idea to go online and familiarize yourself with the directions.

Questions may be presented individually or in sets if they apply to a chart, map, graph, or long reading.

The types of questions on the test and the abilities they measure include your knowledge of facts, terms, and concepts.

Your Calculator
You may use a calculator to take the test, and if you don’t use a calculator, you will be at a disadvantage. A graphing calculator may be slightly more useful than a scientific calculator, but bring the one you are most comfortable with. The worst thing to do is to bring a new, unfamiliar calculator that you will spend a lot of time learning to use.

Mathematics Level 2

This is also a multiple-choice test of 50 questions that takes one hour. It covers numbers and operations; algebra and functions; geometry and measurement (coordinate, three-dimensional, and trigonometry); data analysis, statistics, and probability.

This more advanced test is intended for students who have taken college preparatory math for more than three years and whose curriculum has included two years of algebra, one year of geometry, and elementary functions (pre-calculus) and/or trigonometry. You are not expected to have studied all of the topics on the test.

If you have studied trigonometry and elementary functions and have earned a B or better in the courses and are skilled at knowing when and how to use a scientific or graphing calculator, then you should take the level 2 test. If you are sufficiently prepared to take the level 2, but choose to take the level 1 in hopes that your score will be higher, you may not do as well as you expect. Study the test directions in advance.

Read all the directions that follow and go online to the College Board site for the exact wording of directions.

Use of Calculators Calculators are not necessary to solve every question on the level 2 test, but it is important to know when and how to use one. For a little less than half of the questions, there is no advantage to using a calculator; in fact, they may even be a detriment. However, for the majority of questions, the calculator is your friend. If you are comfortable with both the scientific and graphing calculator, bring the graphing calculator

The SAT policy is very firm: You may not use a calculator for a Subject Test other than the Mathematics Level I and Mathematics Level II Tests.

About the calculator you bring:
You may bring batteries and a backup calculator. (The test center will have no extra calculators on hand, and students may not share calculators.)

If your calculator malfunctions during the test and you do not have a backup calculator, you must tell the supervisor about the malfunction. The supervisor will then cancel scores on that test only, if you desire to do so.

A Calculator is a Calculator—What this Really Means
Many devices have calculators within them

The SAT people really mean calculators and do not allow the following:

• Pocket organizers
• Laptops and portable handheld computers
• Models with typewriter keypads
• Electronic writing pads or pen-input/stylus-driven devices (e.g. Palm, PDAs, Casio Class Pad 300)
• Calculators with paper tapers
• Calculators that make noise or “talk”
• Calculators that require an electrical outlet
• Cell phone calculators

Know When to Use Your Calculator
The calculator is meant to be your assistant after you have decided how you will solve the problem and set it up. For many questions, you may approach problems in different ways, and may be able to solve them without calculators. So, it is best to read the problem, set it up, and then use the calculator if you need to.

Answer choices may not match the calculator. This is because answer choicer choices are rounded.

Don’t round intermediate calculations. If you get a result for the first step in answering a problem, keep the result and use it for the next. Rounding at this juncture may produce errors in your final answer.

Read the question carefully. The calculator cannot reason, it only computes. Reasoning is up to you. The calculator can give you data. The question tells you what to do with the data.

If you are taking the Level 1 test, make sure that the calculator is in degree mode. If you are taking the Level II test, make sure the calculator is in the proper (degree or radian) mode for the question you are working on.

For some questions on the tests, knowing how to use graphing calculators and the functions they perform (square roots, logarithms, trigonometric values, exponents, points of intersection, etc.) is a real advantage. You may want to make learning to use one a part of your test preparation.

You do not have to clear your calculator’s memory before or after taking the test, but you may not use your calculator for sharing, exchanging, or removing any part of a test or any notes relating to the test from the test room.

Biology E/M Subject Test

The Biology Subject Test measures knowledge students have acquired after completing a college preparatory biology course. The test is designed so that students can be successful independent of what textbook or teaching method was used. The Biology E/M test is for students whose biology emphasized either ecological or molecular, with the understanding that evolution is included in both. The test lets you select the area in which you feel best prepared. If you are uncertain about the area you should choose, consult your teacher prior to the test.

The test has a common core of 60 multiple-choice questions, followed by 20 specialized questions in either ecological (Biology-E) or molecular (Biology-M). Each test-taker answers 80 questions.

All test takers answer questions on topics related to cellular and molecular biology, ecology, genetics, organismal biology, and evolution and diversity.

When students select either the Biology-E or the Biology-M section of the test, they are asked to demonstrate knowledge of fundamental concepts, apply concepts and reformulate information, and infer and deduce from data to form conclusions.

Choosing which Biology Subject Test to take.
If you feel more comfortable answering questions about biological communities, populations, and energy flow, choose Biology-E.

If you feel more comfortable answering questions pertaining to biochemistry, cellular structures, and processes, such as respiration and photosynthesis, choose Biology-M.

In other words, those who loved the section on pond life should go with E; those who did not and would rather stay inside wearing lab coats and playing with sophisticated machines, choose M.

Chemistry Subject Test

The Chemistry Test is a 1 hour test with 85 multiple-choice questions. The test measures your understanding of chemistry after you have completed a college preparatory high school chemistry class.

The test covers the following general topics: structure of matter, states of matter, reaction types, stoichiometry, equilibrium and reaction rates, thermo-chemistry, descriptive chemistry, and laboratory skills.

On the test you will be expected to recall fundamental concepts, to apply that knowledge, and to synthesize that knowledge to draw conclusions.