January 2010
Homeschooling High School
Standardized Tests Part One: The SAT
by: Christine Pritt
Standardized tests are still an important part of the college admissions process. This is especially true for a homeschooler, whose educational record is unusual. Admissions officials need a way to compare your child with the thousands of others who apply.
Many college bound students will need to take the SAT Reasoning Test, which measures skills in math, critical reading, and writing. It is given at TJ High School monthly during the school year, and you can register online at www. collegeboard.com.
How can you help your child prepare? First and most important is to provide a rigorous curriculum. Make sure your child has a solid foundation in math through geometry and algebra II and can use a calculator effectively. Require challenging reading in a variety of genres. Assign at least one essay per week.
To become familiar with the test, your child needs steady practice. There are many prep books available; I recommend The Official SAT Study Guide published by the College Board. Have your child do one section (approximately 30 minutes) daily and time himself. Go over the problems he missed together. If he has never taken a standardized test, make sure he practices filling in the bubbles on the answer sheet in the book; proctors will assume students have done this before.
Another way to prepare for the SAT is by taking the PSAT. This test is given by local high schools in mid-October. Call the school to sign up. The PSAT is similar to the SAT, but it’s less expensive (under $15!), and you will get a complete score report showing exactly which questions your child missed. All Frederick County tenth graders take the PSAT, and many students also take it in ninth and eleventh grades.
For eleventh graders, the PSAT also serves as the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The top scorers in each state are named semi-finalists and are eligible for scholarships.
SAT Subject Tests are given at TJ High School. A list of available tests and information on how to register can be found at www.collegeboard.com. It is recommended that students take subject tests as soon as possible after completing a given course. Prep books are available, so you can be sure that your child’s course covered all of the material that will be tested. Not all colleges require Subject Tests, but they are an objective measure to back up the grades you give your child.
In the next issue, I plan to cover Advanced Placement (AP) tests. All of the tests may seem overwhelming, but they provide a wonderful way for homeschoolers to quantify what they’ve learned.
Christine Pritt lives in Walkersville, where she has been homeschooling her six children, with lots of help from her husband Mark, since 1998. Her two oldest were homeschooled through twelfth grade and are both students at Harvard. Her children at home are 16 (11th grade), 14 (9th grade), 13 (7th grade), and 11 (6th grade). This is is the second in a series of articles on homeschooling through high school.