SAT Subject Test

The SAT Subject Test (formerly SAT II: Subject Tests) quantifies test takers’ knowledge in specific areas and their skills to pertain that knowledge. These tests are independent of any particular textbook or method of instruction. Some students take one or more of these tests to differentiate themselves from others. Others take them as a requirement for their choice of college or university.

Taking the SAT Subject Test will help you enhance your academic resume and can even help you bypass some of the college freshman courses if you earn a good score. The SAT subjects are Math (Level 1 & 2), English, History & Social Studies, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Foreign Languages (Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, & Korean).

The SAT Subject Test is use for:

• admission by colleges and universities,
• Course placement,
• Counseling,
• Evaluating your academic status conjoined with some background information, high school records, SAT Reasoning Test score, and teacher recommendation(s).

The best way to find out what SAT Subject Test to take, is to do some research during the first two years of your high school. Find out what colleges and universities you want to attend and their admission process. This research can help you plan your high school courses more efficiently and gives you a clear picture on what courses to take to benefit you in your SAT Subject Test and later on in your college of your choice.

Most students take the test during the last two years of their high school. The best rule of thump is to take the test when you are most ready. For subject test such as math and physics the best time is usually after you finish their courses and for language test the best time is after some times of practice (about two years or more).

There are an unlimited number of sources that test designers can use to test your knowledge. Unfortunately, for this reason this test becomes more challending for students. This test is also challenging because there are no specific lists of readings. These 6 to 8 sets of questions can be driven from any text. Therefore, when you know you are able to understand and analyze any literature that is the time to take this test.

History and Social Studies

To prepare yourself for this test you should know that you cannot rely only on your textbooks. Some college level introductory courses, outside readings, and sample questions can all help. Just remember you cannot depend solely on one source and one textbook.

Mathematics (Level 1 & 2)

Mathematics level 1 tests your skills in algebra, geometry, basic trigonometry, algebra functions, and elementary statistics. Students taking this test usually have taken 3 years of mathematics and have taken more than 3 years if they take mathematic level 2.

Mathematics level 2 tests your skills in algebra, geometry, trigonometry, functions, and statistics. It may be helpful to you to know that test designers don’t expect you to know every topic in each area; however, just make the best of your time and prepare yourself accordingly.

Biology

Students can choose to take either Ecology or Molecular Biology on the test day by answering its respective section. Students are expected to be able to understand biology major concepts, solve problems, draw conclusion from experimentations and observations, understand different forms of graphs, and interpret experimental data. Test takers can master these skills by taking one year of college introductory courses in Biology, math, and laboratory.

Chemistry

One year of college introductory course in chemistry, algebra, and lab will help students to master major chemistry concepts, solving problems, decipher experimental results and data, and interpret graphic forms.

Physics

Test takers should take one year of introductory course in physics, algebra, trigonometry, and lab experiments to help them master major physics concepts, and problem solving using basic mathematical concepts such as ratio, and proportion.

<< Prev    Next >>