SAT+Subject+Test

BIOLOGY Subject Matter Test (SAT II)

To all Sophomore Students and Parents:

BIOLOGY Subject Matter Test (SAT II)

This is one of many College Board tests available in subject areas. The Biology test is one students often choose as a third subject test, particularly if a student may be considering going into the sciences or if his or her possible future college choice requires SAT Subject matter tests for admission. (Students often take SAT II tests for English, math and a subject they are strong in.) We consider Biology to be a good choice of the science options--there are Chemistry and Physics tests but they are more difficult.

When should I take the test? Because most students take Biology their Sophomore year, it makes sense for them to take this test at the end of that school year and not wait until the following spring when most other SAT II tests are being taken. It is highly recommended that they sign up for the JUNE date, not the May one, as they will not have enough genetics or evolution yet to do well on the test (our major topics the months of May and June). There are also some topics that, while done in various ways throughout the year in smaller pieces, are not covered in some of the fine detail they might have to know for this test. To help them be better prepared for exam, the biology teachers offer a couple after school study sessions to review material briefly, hit on some things we have not covered in as much detail, and go over some study handouts which they may find useful. This will happen very close to the exam date- I will inform those taking it when we schedule study sessions. Even with this, they should realize that a test like this needs preparation on their own time. They will need to plan for that as they approach the day. The few help sessions will not be enough to go over everything we have learned all year. SAT II prep books can be purchased at any bookstore to help them prepare.

How are scores sent to colleges? All SAT II scores are automatically sent when they send their SAT I score to colleges. So the scores they receive for this will be held until they take the SAT I and indicate college choices. They can take it again if they do poorly and the colleges will see both scores and will go by the higher score. Remember that this is not a required test, but some colleges do require some SAT II's to be taken. This is an option if your child feels very confident in Biology.

Which test should I sign up for? There are two versions of the test. Both have a common core of questions that hit on all the major concepts of biology and then there is a smaller set of about 20 questions that concentrates on either ecology or molecular biology (that would be biochemistry and genetics). Both those topics are in both exams, they just have extra questions tagged on that get at some more detail in the concentration section. The student decides when they are actually taking the test which version they will take--that decision does not have to be made when signing up. My personal recommendation is to take the ecology version as we spent quite a bit of time on that and most find those concepts much easier to remember the details about when taking a test, but it is up to the student to choose.

How should I sign up? There is a booklet with a mini test in it available from the guidance office that students can pick up anytime. The best way to sign up is online through collegboard.com. Allow some extra time for the sign up process if this is the first time they have been to this site as there is a long questionnaire to fill out.

The deadline to register for these tests is in early May. The actual test is in early June. Students can register at www.collegeboard.com

Please contact me or the guidance office if you have any questions.