The SAT Subject Tests are standardized tests that colleges and universities review when considering an applicant's admission. There are five general areas that are tested: English, history and social studies, mathematics, science and languages. Each subject test takes an hour to complete, and the questions are in the form of multiple choice or a variation thereof. Up to three of these exams can be taken in a single day, and the SAT Subject Tests are administered six times each year. They are then machine graded and sent to you and the colleges or universities of your choice.
The five subject areas that are the focus of the subject tests have various subtopics. The English Subject Test focuses on literature. History and Social Studies is broken down into United States history and world history. The Science Subject Test focuses on the different areas of science such as physics, chemistry and biology. The Mathematics Subject Test is broken down into two levels. The Language Subject Test has multiple languages that can be tested: Chinese, French, German, Modern Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Spanish, Japanese and Korean.
There are two steps involved in finding the scores for the SAT Subject Tests. First, a raw score is established by assigning points to the answered questions. For a correctly answered question, one point is awarded. For an incorrect answer, a fraction of a point is given, depending on the number of possible answers there were. If there were three possible answers, a half-point is awarded. If there were four possible answers, two-thirds of a point is given. If there were five possible answers, three-quarters of a point is given. There is no penalty for unanswered questions. The resulting overall score, which is rounded up or down, depending on whether it is more or less than half a point, is then equated to the scaled score that falls from 200 to 800 points.
It is your 200- to 800-point scaled score that is reported to colleges and universities. There is no right or wrong score when considering your SAT Subject Test scores, nor is there passing or failing. Instead, there are two things you should consider when reviewing your scores, and these variables will differ depending on current national score averages and the college or university to which you are applying. First, you should consider how your scaled score compares to the other students who have taken the test recently. You will have hopefully achieved a score that is at least on par with the national average for that particular subject area. Second, you should also consider the admissions requirements for the colleges or universities to which you are applying, and how your score compares to the scores they are looking for.