College Readiness Assessments
There are several external assessments that play a key role in the admissions process for most colleges and universities - the most common are the SAT and the ACT. Students can register online for either the SAT or ACT which are normally taken in the year. Students can take these exams as many times as they wish in an effort to improve their scores. Students who have economic hardship can apply for waivers for both of these exams by seeking out an appointment with their school counselor.
Palm Beach County School District provides an opportunity for all students to take not only the SAT during the school day at their own school but also the PSAT in grades 8, 9 and 10. These school day assessments are provided to remove barriers to Saturday testing for low-income students. Because the PSAT and SAT suite of assessments are aligned to each other as well as to the state standards, it also allows students, parents, and teachers the opportunity to see how students are progressing in key skills. It also allows students to keep improving their SAT scores, as research shows that students who practice perform better.
Both the ACT and the SAT have free online practice sites:
- SAT practice on Khan Academy
- ACT Academy