Saint Mary's College High School

The High School Placement Test (HSPT) - Saturday, January 9, 2010

Saint Mary's requires that all ninth grade applicants take the (HSPT) High School Placement Test. The HSPT, developed by Scholastic Testing Service, is a 3 hour standardized exam that evaluates verbal, quantitative, reading, mathematics, and English language skills.

Catholic high schools in the Diocese of Oakland will administer the HSPT on Saturday, January 9, 2010, including Saint Mary's College High School.  This is the only date the exam will be given at Saint Mary's. Students do not need to bring anything with them; Saint Mary's will provide all necessary materials for testing.     NO CALCULATORS are allowed.

 *     Students WITH EXTENDED TIME will begin their exam promptly at 8:00 a.m. with a check-in time available from 7:30 a.m. to 7:45 a.m.in our gymnasium.

*      Students WITHOUT EXTENDED TIME will begin their exam promptly at 8:30 a.m. with a check-in time available from 8:00 a.m to 8:15 a.m. in our gymnasium. 

Students may take the exam at any of the nine Oakland Diocese Catholic secondary schools to which they have applied without penalty in the admissions process. These secondary schools include (alpha):

Bishop O'Dowd High School
Carondelet High School (girls only)
De La Salle High School (boys only)
Holy Names High School (girls only)
Moreau Catholic High School
Saint Elizabeth High School
Saint Joseph Notre Dame High School
Saint Mary's College High School
Salesian High School

If applying to more than one high school, applicants must pay the application fee at each school regardless of whether they take the exam there or not. On the day of the exam, students will be instructed to enter the corresponding high school codes for each high school they want to receive a copy of their test results (max: 3 schools).

Subject Placement Testing - Saturday, April 24, 2010

The results of the HSPT are one of several important indicators considered for admission to Saint Mary's. However, these test results are not the basis to appropriately place accepted freshman in academic classes.  Please click here for information and details about our assessment and subject placement opportunities for freshman for higher math, international language, and certain areas of study with the Visual and Performing Arts. These placement tests and auditions are optional for incoming freshman. Subject placement tests are scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 24, 2010 to afford students the benefit of completing most of their course work in the subject are to better demonstrate the extent of their comprehension and knowledge in those areas.

Learning Disabilities and Learning Differences

Applicants with learning disabilities/learning differences must submit letters of formal documentation and/or assessment from qualified professionals stating diagnosis, treatment, progress, and potential for success at Saint Mary’s College High School along with the Student Application by January 4, 2010, in order for the applicant to be granted extended time on the HSPT admissions exam.  Extended time provides for time and a half on the exam.  There are no untimed exams at Saint Mary’s. Documentation must accompany your application in order to be considered for extended time, and must be dated within three years of January 2010.

Saint Mary’s offers two classroom accommodations when appropriate: (1) preferential seating (e.g., in the front of the classroom), and (2) extended time (150%) on tests and exams. Students are expected to advocate for themselves and to thus arrange for these two accommodations with individual teachers.

While Saint Mary's will do what it can to support students whose learning differences may impede optimal learning, its resources are limited.  Students and their parents are urged to locate specially designed outside programs of academic support to ensure academic success at Saint Mary’s. 

Guidance counselors will meet with students to check on their progress in the spring of each year and will communicate with teachers should they become aware of neurodevelopmental or physical obstacles to student learning.  However, guidance counselors are not trained to analyze or diagnose a student's particular learning disabilities or differences, and students may be referred to outside professional for testing or further evaluation. 

To be eligible for special accommodations in the classroom, families must submit valid and current documentation from a licensed professional. Students whose learning disabilities are identified and diagnosed during the course of their attendance at Saint Mary’s, the student's parents must submit the required documentation as soon as possible so that the school can institute steps for effective educational support.  Referral information for testing and outside resources are available upon request from the Director of Counseling.