<p>Hello, I'm going to be an international student and before making a decision about taking/not taking SAT exams I need you to tell me something: what's the course of ordinary schools in USA (i'm interested in math and science)? Words like linear algebra or something like this tell me nothing because those subjects can be covered in a different way. I'd ask more smart questions if I known just something about high-school education in US, but all I have now is a book "Mathematics - structure and method", the course of which I found very easy. Maybe some of you have a hyperlink to some page containing examples of SAT questions and tasks? I would be also very glad if somebody posted here some examples of the most comlicated tasks on the exam or in a school program...</p>
<p>If you go to the College Board's website, there is a free full</a> length practice test that you can look at to see what is tested. There are also more</a> practice questions online. Additionally, there is also a list</a> of math topics that are covered on the test.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot, tanman! I'll do that.</p>
<p>The ACT is a better reflection of the typical high school curriculum than the SAT. It is created based on studies of high school curricula in the US, and is intended to measure how much students have learned in high school--academic achievement rather than aptitude. While I'm not convinced that the two tests really measure anything different, I have found that the content of the ACT is much more like high school work. The readings on the SAT are more difficult than what high school students are typically expected to read. The ACT also includes a science section. A full ACT practice test is available here: <a href="http://www.actstudent.org/sampletest/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.actstudent.org/sampletest/index.html</a>.</p>
<p>If you want to know what more advanced high school students learn in the US, go to the <a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/about.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/about.html</a> and look at the content covered by the AP tests in Physics, Biology, and Calculus.</p>
<p>Although people like to call the SAT a Reasoning test and the ACT an Achievement test, they are both mostly tests of test taking skill. Although the ACT requires a little more knowledge of math topics like very basic Trigonometry, it certainly does not test any knowledge in social studies, sciences, or humanities. The ACT science test does not require any knowledge of science. Neither test is good reflection of what people learn in High School. The only knowledge required for both of the tests is an understanding of basic mathematical properties and some knowledge of grammar and usage. This represents a tiny subset of what a college bound HS student learns. The ACT is not as tricky as the SAT, but requires greater speed. </p>
<p>If you want to see the curriculum of a good U.S Suburban public High School, try this link:</p>
<p>In the U.S. there is a lot more choice in selecting classes than in most other countries. Motivated students can take very advanced and sophisticated classes. Stupid and lazy students can avoid all challenges</p>