Testing Information & Schedule
High-Stakes Tests
ISTEP + is a test of basic skills required by the State of Indiana Board of Education for all students in their second year of high school. The test is given at Hamilton Southeastern in the fall. The ISTEP+ includes a battery of tests to measure both achievement and aptitude. All students must pass ISTEP+ or qualify for the waiver in order to receive a high school diploma. Click here to find out when the ISTEP+ tests will be given, click here. To sample test items from previous ISTEP examinations, click here. PSAT/NMSQT is a practice test that is almost identical to the SAT I college admissions test. The PSAT will be given at Hamilton Southeastern in October. Juniors are recommended to take the PSAT in order to be familiar and more prepared for the SAT I. It is also the qualifying test for juniors in the National Merit Scholarship Competition. Sophomores also take the PSAT. To learn all about the PSAT examination, click here. To get practice for the PSAT examination preparing with interactive questions and responses, click here. SAT I (Scholastic Aptitude Test) is an aptitude test used widely by college admissions counselors in the selection process. It consists of a math and verbal section. It is offered eight times per year nationally. Students may use calculators on the math sections. Hamilton Southeastern High School is a test site in October and June. Students may take the test at other sites during the other months. Generally we encourage juniors to take the test in May or June and seniors to take the test in October or November. Students may take the test on any test date. If the test is taken more than once, normally the best scores from each section are used by admissions counselors in the selection process. Sophomores may also take the SAT. To learn all about the new SAT, click here. To connect to the SAT Preparation Center, click here. To subscribe to receive an SAT question of the day, click here. ACT (American College Test) is another aptitude test widely used by college admissions counselors in the selection process. It consists of math, verbal and science sections. It is offered five to six times per year nationally. Students may use calculators on the math sections. Hamilton Southeastern High School is not a test site so students must take the test at sites in other area schools (i.e.. Noblesville, Carmel, Lawrence Schools, etc.) Generally, we encourage juniors to take the test in May and seniors to take the test in November. Sophomores may also take the ACT. To be connected to the ACT home page for students and parents, click here.
SAT II/ACHIEVEMENT TESTS. Some colleges require achievement tests for admission or placement purposes. Tests are in specific areas of English, math, science, foreign language, and social studies. Students should check with specific colleges to determine if SAT II tests are required. Generally achievement tests are offered the same dates as the SAT. I. To learn about all of the SAT II subject area tests, click here. ADVANCED PLACEMENT TESTS (AP TESTS) These tests are offered to high school students who have taken an AP course in math, science, social studies or English. The tests are given in May. Students scoring very high on these exams can qualify for advanced placement or credit in college courses. Click below for resources about subjects, tests, test preparation, earning college credit in high school, as well as tips on the college application process. This site is an excellent resource to show students the benefits of enrolling in Advance Placement courses! Click here.
Career Inventories & College Major Testing
CAREER AND COLLEGE MAJOR TESTING The goals of the career testing program: to help students explore their interests and abilities to expose our students to many possible careers and the education necessary to be successful in most fields of work to connect learning to future work to provide accurate information on careers and colleges to initiate future planning and goal setting THE FOLLOWING CAREER INVENTORIES WILL BE OFFERED: FRESHMEN JOB-O - is a career interest inventory given to freshmen in English classes. Students are given a series of phrases regarding many different activities. The students score each phase on a 1 to 5 scale ranging from "dislike" to "really like". The students then total their scores and can locate their areas of highest interest by the higher scores in each area. SOPHOMORES PLAN – The interest inventory used in PLAN is a 90 item inventory developed by ACT. Responses to the inventory are summarized to link job families with work task preferences. JUNIORS SELF DIRECTED SEARCH – The SDS is a tool to organize information about people and jobs. It can be used to discover how your special pattern of interests, self-estimates, and competencies resembles the patterns of interests and competencies that many occupations demand. A.S.V.A.B. - The A.S.V.A.B. is an optional aptitude and career test administered to juniors by the armed services, free of charge. The test has ten sub-tests which are converted into ability, and achievement scores covering a large range of competencies. The test gives students two career measures. One measure is from the test scores and a second interest inventory is administered when the test results are given. This test is given at HSE in January.
Testing Schedule
Grade Freshmen Sophomore
Aptitude
Career JOB-O (Nov)
ISTEP+ (September) PSAT (Oct) PSAT (Oct) SAT/ACT (May or June) SAT/ACT (Oct or Nov)
PLAN (Nov)
Junior Senior
Self-Directed Search (Nov) Individual Testing