PSAT/NMSQT
The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test is administered to juniors every year in October. Even though the PSAT is not considered a college entrance exam, it does provide the opportunity for students to practice standardized testing and identify strengths and weaknesses that can be useful in future standardized test preparation. Furthermore, students who score high enough on the PSAT may qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Program, which can result in merit scholarship awards.
pACT
SAT & ACT
Even though we have seen a growing number of schools moving to a ‘test-optional’ policy, several schools still require an SAT or ACT standardized test score for admission. Even if schools do not require a test score, most of them will accept them as an additional piece to a student’s application portfolio. Most schools will accept either test score, but some may prefer one over the other. There are also a number of schools who will accept a ‘superscore,’ which is a recalculated score using the best individual section scores across all test dates.
All Denver Christian juniors and seniors are given the opportunity to take both the SAT and the ACT on campus during the school day. Seniors take both the SAT and ACT in the fall and juniors take both tests in the winter/spring. Denver Christian will take care of registering all students for these on campus tests. Both the SAT and ACT are also offered several times a year on national testing dates. For additional information, registration information and testing dates please visit the SAT College Board website or the ACT website.
CLT
The Classical Learning Test is an online college entrance exam designed for 11th and 12th grade students. A newcomer to the standardized test scene, the CLT emphasized classical education — namely logic, reasoning, and reading. This test is widely accepted by 200+ smaller, private religious schools (list of partner schools). Denver Christian offers the CLT for juniors and seniors in the fall as well as the CLT10 for sophomores in the winter/spring. For more information on the CLT and how it compares to the SAT and ACT, click here.
AP Exams (Advanced Placement)
AP exams are designed to assess particular content areas and while they are rarely required by colleges, they can help strengthen a student’s application to more competitive schools. Some schools will accept a passing AP score as college credit. AP exams are conducted on campus each year in May. Please visit the AP section on College Board for more information and a complete list of AP exam subjects.
Test Prep
Test preparation resources are numerous and range widely in both cost as well as effectiveness. Some of the best free test prep resources are found directly on the respective exam websites themselves: College Board uses Khan Academy for SAT, ACT uses ACT Academy, and the CLT has practice tests on their website as well. Do your research when selecting a test prep agency! Here are a couple resources that Denver Christian has partnered with and utilized in the past:
College Drive — Marilyn Innerfeld | Email: marilyni@baroned.com | Phone: 720-496-2242
Revolution Prep — Tim Good | Email: tim.good@revolutionprep.com | Phone: 650-422-3181
Test Innovators | Phone: 1-800-280-1857