Practice SAT/ACT Proctor Guide

The following is a basic guide to administering an SAT or ACT test simulation to be scored afterward by the test takers; this is a relatively low-impact way to provide students with test practice that in some respects more closely simulates the actual test experience.

Proctor

The proctor's chief tasks are:
  1. Set up and maintain facilities, including seating, lighting, climate control (as applicable), and restroom access.
  2. Read aloud scripted guidance to students at several points in the test simulation. (See SAT Proctor Script or ACT proctor script.)
  3. Distribute test materials.
  4. Announce and strictly enforce test section start, 5-minute warning, and end times.
  5. Instruct students on scoring their own and/or each other's practice tests.
Although the proctor should help students with any logistical or administrative aspects of the practice test, the proctor should not offer any substantive help in answering questions or understanding material; the proctor's knowledge of the tested skills should not play a role in proctoring the test.

Materials

The College Board provides eight practice SATs, available free via this link or in book form available for purchase online. The ACT maker provides a free annual practice test as part of its student online prep materials. These are the go-to practice SAT and ACT tests for students who have not yet taken them.

    Administering a practice SAT or ACT requires for each student:
  1. One printed copy of the practice test, excluding the answer key and score scaling charts. In most cases, students will keep the test booklet, hopefully for their own review and analysis.
  2. One printed standard answer sheet ("grid sheet"), in the exact format used by the College Board or ACT, Inc., as appropriate.
  3. One printed answer key and scaling chart. (These will be distributed to the students after the test if they will hand grade and scale their own tests; otherwise, these serve as a backup in case automatic scoring applications do not work.)
Test Simulation

After preparing the room and confirming students' attendance, the proctor proceeds with the test simulation as follows:
  1. Read the script's introductory guidance (which is a very brief version) to students.
  2. Distribute the practice tests, instructing students not to begin until they are told to.
  3. Using the proctor script, for each section (the SAT and ACT each have 4 multiple choice sections), instruct students to begin the section, issue a precise 5-minute warning before the end of the section, and instruct students to stop writing, put their pencils down, and turn over their practice tests (face down), at the appropriate times.
  4. At the end of each of test sections 1, 2, and 3, permit students a 5-minute break before beginning the next section.
Grading and Scaling

The new practice SATs feature an iPhone or Android automated scoring app that students use by photographing and submitting their grid sheets; the ACT does not at this time offer this option, so requires hand grading and scaling.

    In the case of automatic online SAT scoring, after the test is complete the proctor will:
  • Read the proctor script's guidance to students on photographing, submitting, and scoring their SATs.
    In the case of hand grading (for the ACT or if anything goes wrong with the SAT's automated utility), after the test is complete the proctor will:
  • Read the proctor script's guidance to students on hand grading and scaling their tests.
  • Distribute the answer keys and scaling charts to students.
  • Offer guidance and troubleshooting to students grading and scaling their tests.