CATALINA FOOTHILLS SCHOOL DISTRICT

The ACT provides a high quality, nationally recognized college entrance exam to all high school students at no cost to the students or the schools, while measuring students’ college and career readiness.  

All 11th grade students are required take the state achievement test version of The ACT on the date listed below regardless if they have already taken the ACT or will be taking the ACT at another scheduled time.

Who: All 11th graders

When: The ACT will be administered on Tuesday, March 21 2023

ACT (Grade 11) Information & Support Materials (ADE Website)

The statewide achievement test for 9th graders (cohort 2026) is ACT Aspire. ACT Aspire is a summative assessment that measures what students have learned in the areas of English, Reading, Math, Science, and Writing. ACT Aspire is aligned to the ACT college readiness benchmarks. ACT Aspire scores predict how a student will perform on the ACT when they reach 11th grade.

Who: All 9th graders

When: ACT Aspire will be administered on Tuesday, April 18 2023

ACT Aspire (Grade 9) Information & Support Materials (ADE Website)

The statewide achievement test for science is the Arizona Science Test (AzSCI). It will be administered to all students in grade 11 (cohort 2024). The science assessment is a federal requirement and will measure the 2018 Science Standards.

Who: All 11th graders

When: The AzSCI statewide achievment test will be administered on Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Useful Links

AzSCI Information & Support Materials (ADE Website)
Sample Test - Select Arizona, then click on "Mic Check and Sample Tests"
Formula Reference Guide
Period Table 

Who
9th and 11th graders

What
“The College and Career Readiness Assessment (CCRA+) directly measures student performance on critical-thinking and written-communication skills, such as analysis and problem solving, scientific and quantitative reasoning, critical reading and evaluation, and critiquing an argument, in addition to writing mechanics and effectiveness,” (https://cae.org).

The assessment consists of a Performance Task (DBQ)  to measure higher-order skills such as critical thinking and written communication in a real-world and a series of Selected Response (multiple choice) Questions to assess scientific and quantitative reasoning, critical reading and evaluation, and critiquing an argument. 

When
Students will test for 2 hours on a single assigned date based on their English teacher.

• Freshmen Range: September 12 2022 - September 23 2022
• Junior Range: January 23 2023 - February 3 2022

When
AP exams occur in the first two weeks of May.  Click here for the full schedule. 

How to Register

View the AP Exam Registration Process

Useful Links

MyAP - Gives students access to AP classroom, where teachers can provide/assign resources and practice. This is also where students will register for a test.

FAQs - Responses to frequently asked questions regarding AP Exams.

AP Home Page

College Board Equivalency Search

UA Credit Equivalency Chart

Who
9th-12th grade students

What
Assessment to demonstrate proficiency in Mandarin Chinese (simplified or traditional), Spanish, Arabic, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), or Russian.

Useful Links

• More Information about the Seal of Biliteracy

Who
11th graders (as well as 12th graders who have not yet passed)

What
In 2015, the Arizona State Legislature passed the Arizona Civics Test Law (House Bill 2064). This bill requires students, beginning with the graduating class of 2017, to pass a civics test based on the United States Immigration and Naturalization civics questions. Students will be required to score 60% or higher in order to graduate from high school or obtain a high school equivalency certificate. School districts are required to document on the student’s transcript that the student passed the Arizona Civics Test.

When
Juniors, as well as seniors needing to pass, will test through US History classes on a date to be determined in the spring. (Seniors will be added into testing classes)

Useful Links

• Office of Education Website
• Study Materials

Who
All students are encouraged to take either the SAT and/or the ACT in spring of junior year. 9th and 10th graders are permitted to test, but may not have the full content knowledge.
 

What
Both the SAT and ACT are standardized college admissions exams. As many students score higher on one test than the other, and colleges always use the higher score, students should consider taking both the SAT and the ACT. Princeton Review and prepscholar are among websites that offer tips to consider when deciding which test to take if a student only wants to take one.

Go to sat.collegeboard.org to register for the SAT and actstudent.org to register for the ACT.   You will need a credit card and the CFHS CEEB code which is 030476.  We encourage families to take advantage of the four free test reports option and select four colleges when registering.  (Ordering reports later will cost approximately $12 each.)  Test fee waivers are available if a student qualifies for Free/Reduced Lunch.   See your counselor.  

When

SAT - October 2, November 6, December 4, March 12, May 7, June 4
Click here to view Registration Information and Deadlines.

ACT - September 11, October 23, December 11, February 12, April 2, June 11, July 16
Click here to view Registration Information and Deadlines.

*Be sure to visit College Board and ACT's websites for updates regarding COVID-19. College Board and ACT have stated they will email students directly to notify you about cancellations *

Useful Links:

SAT
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/practice/full-length-practice-tests
https://satsuitequestionbank.collegeboard.org/
ACT
http://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/test-preparation.html

Useful Phone Apps:

• Khan Academy - Contains math video lessons to cover topics on both the SAT and ACT. Khan Academy has partnered with College Board and has expanded its SAT prep resources.
• Magoosh ACT Flashcards - Cover essential English, math, and science knowledge. Contains an algorithm that adapts to the user so you know which concepts to focus on.
• Daily Practice - Features official SAT questions. Practice with a question of the day or search archived questions by difficulty level.
• The Grading Game - Invites players to find errors within sample essays - which is great for writing and English sections. The timer helps train your brain to find errors quickly and effectively. 
• Math Brain Booster - Helps train for the "no calculator" portion for the SAT and improves attention span, reaction time, and mental sharpness by challenging user to solve tasks within a time limit.

Who
All Juniors, and any interested Sophomores are encouraged to take the PSAT.

What
The PSAT is the official practice SAT and is also the qualifying test for juniors for the National Merit Scholarship Program. The PSAT has two sections: Math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing.  Students will encounter passage-based questions—sometimes accompanied by tables, graphs, and charts—and math problems drawing upon algebra, geometry, and a little trig. 

When
Tuesday, October 25, 2022

How to Register

Register by paying on InTouch between September 12 through September 30.  Cost is $25.

Additional Information

• Information will go out to registered students the week prior to the test with information on where to go (House One classrooms) and what to bring.  The test takes about 3.5 hours and will run from 8:30-12:00.  Oct 25 is a half-day due to Parent-Teacher-Student conferences and students taking the PSAT will be excused from classes for the day.
   
• Students can access free full-length practice tests on https://www.khanacademy.org/ or https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/ and/or may stop by the Counseling Office (House One) to pick up a hard copy of the PSAT practice booklet while supplies last.

*Please note that the PSAT is just one way for juniors to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Program.  Additionally, there are plenty of free online practice tests for the official SAT. While the PSAT is the official practice test, it is not the only option for test prep.

Useful Links

• Practice Test
• Inside the Test
• Explore Sample Test Questions

Who
Open to students grades 9-11

What
The FFO is hosting an unofficial practice ACT test for students.

When
TBD

How to Register

Register via InTouch or with the Bursar ($35)

Who
Open to students grades 9-11

What
The FFO is hosting an unofficial practice SAT test for students. 

When/Where
TBD

How to Register

TBD

Who
Open to all students grades 10-12. 

What
The ASVAB is sponsored by the US military but any student, regardless of military interest, who would like a better understanding of possible career matches is encouraged to take this free assessment.  The ASVAB measures an individual’s knowledge and ability in ten different areas including general science, math reasoning, word knowledge and paragraph comprehension, coding speed, and mechanical and electronic information.  A student’s strengths are matched to possible careers and each student receives a personalized summary report.

When
TBD

How to Register

TBD

Useful Links

• ASVAB Practice Test Online
• ASVAB Career Exploration Program