Subject Tests are designed to measure your knowledge and skills in particular subject areas, as well as your ability to apply that knowledge.
Students take the Subject Tests to demonstrate to colleges their mastery of specific subjects like English, history, mathematics, science, and language. The tests are independent of any particular textbook or method of instruction. The tests' content evolves to reflect current trends in high school curricula, but the types of questions change little from year to year.
Many colleges use the Subject Tests for admission, for course placement, and to advise students about course selection. Used in combination with other background information (your high school record, scores from other tests like the SAT Reasoning Test, teacher recommendations, etc.), they provide a dependable measure of your academic achievement and are a good predictor of future performance.
Some colleges specify the Subject Tests they require for admission or placement; others allow applicants to choose which tests to take.
Subject Tests fall into five general subject areas:
The Literature Subject Test measures how well you have learned to read and interpret literature. There are six to eight sets of questions on the test, each based on a different literary text. The examination usually contains about 60 multiple-choice questions.
The United States History Subject Test assesses your knowledge of and ability to use material commonly taught in U.S. History and social studies courses in high school.
The examination usually contains about 90~95 multiple-choice questions.
The World History Subject Test measures your understanding of key developments in global history and your use of basic historical techniques. Basic techniques include the application and weighing of evidence and the ability to interpret and generalize.
The examination usually contains 95 multiple-choice questions.
Mathematics Level 1 is a broad survey test intended for students who have taken three years of college-prep math: two years of algebra and one year of geometry.
The examination usually contains 50 multiple-choice questions in one-hour
Mathematics Level 2 is a broad survey test intended for students who have taken college-prep math for more than three years: two years of algebra, one year of geometry, and trigonometry and elementary functions (pre-calculus).
The examination usually contains 50 multiple-choice questions in one-hour
The Biology E/M test assesses your understanding of general biology at the college preparatory level.
The Biology E/M contains a common core of 60 general-knowledge multiple-choice questions, followed by 20 multiple-choice questions that emphasize either ecological (Biology E) or molecular (Biology M) subject matter. After completing the core questions, test takers choose the section for which they feel most prepared.
On test day you'll indicate if you're taking Biology-E or Biology-M by gridding the code for the chosen test on your answer sheet. Only questions pertaining to the test code that is gridded on the answer sheet will be scored. You may not take both Biology-E and Biology-M on the same test day.
The chemistry test assesses your understanding of general chemistry at the college preparatory level.
The examination usually contains 85 multiple-choice questions.
Please Note: Due to the differences in high school chemistry courses, you may find that some questions are on unfamiliar topics.
To assess your understanding of physics at the college preparatory level
The examination usually contains 75 multiple-choice questions.
Please Note: Due to the differences in high school physics courses, it is likely that most students will find that some questions are on topics they are not familiar with.
The Language Subject Test evaluates your ability to communicate the each language in a culturally appropriate manner.
The Subject Tests in Languages with Listening (Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish) consist of a listening section and a reading section. The examination usually contains 80~85 multiple-choice questions (one 20-min. Listening sections and one 40-min. Reading section)
This test measures your ability to comprehend both written and spoken Language.
Students taking these tests are required to bring an acceptable cassette player with earphones to the test center.
Offered only in November at designated test centers.
|