Unit 1: English Section
Measures standard written English and rhetorical skills through passage-based editing questions.

Conventions of Standard English
Sentence structure: fragments, run-ons, comma splices
Subject-verb agreement
Verb tense and form
Pronoun case and pronoun-antecedent agreement
Modifier placement (dangling and misplaced)
Parallel structure
Punctuation: commas, semicolons, colons, dashes, apostrophes
Idioms, word choice, and comparisons

Production of Writing
Topic development and purpose
Adding, deleting, or revising sentences
Organization, unity, and cohesion
Paragraph order and placement of sentences

Knowledge of Language
Concision and avoiding redundancy
Style, tone, and consistency
Word choice for clarity and precision

Transitions and logical connectors
Preparing for Higher Math
Number and quantity
Real and complex numbers
Exponents, radicals, and rational exponents
Vectors and matrices (occasional)
Algebra
Linear equations and inequalities
Systems of equations
Absolute value
Functions
Function notation and composition
Linear, quadratic, polynomial, radical, exponential, and logarithmic functions
Graphs and transformations
Geometry
Angles, triangles, and polygons
Circles and arc length
Area, surface area, and volume
Coordinate geometry: lines, distance, midpoint, conics
Trigonometry: right triangles, unit circle, identities, graphs
Statistics and Probability
Mean, median, mode, and standard deviation
Probability and counting (permutations and combinations)
Data from tables and graphs; scatterplots and line of best fit

Integrating Essential Skills
Rates, ratios, and proportions
Percentages and unit conversions
Area and volume in applied settings
Multi-step word problems and data interpretation

Modeling
Interpreting and building models from real contexts
Four passages, each with a set of questions, drawn from four categories:

Passage types
Literary narrative or prose fiction
Social science
Humanities
Natural science
(Some passages are paired, requiring comparison)

Question types
Key ideas and details: main idea, summarizing, supporting details, sequence, cause and effect
Craft and structure: word meaning in context, point of view, tone, purpose, text structure
Integration of knowledge and ideas: arguments, evidence, comparing two passages
Tests scientific reasoning rather than recall of facts.

Content areas
Biology, chemistry, physics, and Earth/space science

Passage formats
Data representation (graphs, tables, and charts)
Research summaries (experiments and their designs)
Conflicting viewpoints (competing hypotheses)

Skills tested
Interpreting and analyzing data
Scientific investigation and experimental design
Evaluating models, inferences, and experimental results
Basic trends, predictions, and unit conversions
Prompt: a contemporary issue with three perspectives

Task: analyze the perspectives and present your own position

Skills scored
Ideas and analysis
Development and support
OrganizationLanguage use and conventions
English: 50 questions, 35 minutes
Math: 45 questions, 50 minutes
Reading: 36 questions, 40 minutes
Science (optional): 40 questions, 40 minutes
Writing (optional): 1 essay, 40 minutes
Core test (English, Math, Reading): about 2 hours 5 minutes of testing time
Math answer choices: 4 choices per question (on the current format), compared with 5 choices on the older format