High school is four years of students experimenting their interests and disinterests, and preparing for the real world. Every student has their own concept of high school; some may be excited to start the new experience ahead while others might feel scared to start school in a new place with new people.
High School Education
A high school is a secondary school in the United States, and provides education instruction for students between the ages of 11 and 18. A high school consists of grades 9 through 12, with grade levels known as freshman, sophomore, junior and senior. Most high schools offer a range of general academic courses, such as English, mathematics, science, history and a foreign language. Other subjects offered in high schools are industrial arts, homemaking, health, physical education, music, and more. Students may distribute selections between required classes and electives.
Standardized Tests in High School
HSPT
The High School Placement Test is used by most Catholic and parochial high schools to evaluate 8th graders’ reading, verbal, and math skills. There are five main sections on the HSPT designed to emphasize application over content related abilities – reading, mathematics, language, verbal skills, and quantitative skills. Raw scores on each section of the HSPT are based on the number of correct answers, so there is no penalty for guessing. The standard scores on each section of the HSPT range from 200 to 800, with 500 being the average score.
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SHSAT
The Specialized High Schools Admissions Test is an exam 8th and 9th graders take for admission to Specialized High Schools in New York City. Students’ performance on the SHSAT is the only admissions factor for these eight out of nine specialized schools. The test is usually offered in late October for 8th graders and mid-November for 9th graders. Students earn a raw score based on the number of questions they get right. There is a verbal section that consists of nonfiction reading comprehension and revising/editing passages, informational texts, literary prose texts and poems. The math section consists of multiple choice and grin-in questions.
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ISEE
The Independent School Entrance Examination is used for admission to private middle schools and high schools. There are three different levels of the test that are offered, depending on where students are in their education - Upper Level, Middle Level, and Lower Level. The ISEE consists of four sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantative Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, and Mathematics Achievement. This test also includes an essay section that is not scored, but is sent to the schools to which students apply to.
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SSAT
The Secondary School Admissions Test is used for admission to private middle schools and high schools. There are different levels of the test that are offered depending on where students are in their education – Upper Level, Middle Level, and Lower Level. No matter which level of the test students are taking, the SSAT will always test the same three sections: Quantitative, Reading Comprehension and Verbal Reasoning. The test also contains an unscored essay that is sent to schools students are applying to.
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