What is the SCAT?

The School and College Ability Test (SCAT) is an “above grade level” test. It measures students’ verbal and math reasoning abilities about two whole grade levels above their current grade. The SCAT is what students need to take for admissions into the Johns Hopkins Centre of Talented Youth (CTY) programs and summer camps. Students can take the test up to twice per year. Each CTY program has different requirements and therefore a different qualifying score. Unlike most other tests, the goal of the SCAT is to meet the eligibility requirement for the desired courses/programs.

Who takes SCAT?

The test is split into three levels. Which level the student takes depends on which grade the student is in currently. Students who take the SCAT typically look to enrol in a Johns Hopkins Center of Talented Youth (CTY) summer program with their scores. The summer programs vary depending on which level of the SCAT you take. Take a look at the table below to see which level is suitable for you:

LevelCurrent gradeGrade level of questions
ElementaryGrades 2-3Grades 4-5
IntermediateGrades 4-5Grades 6-8
AdvancedGrades 6 and aboveGrades 9-12

What subjects does SCAT cover?

The SCAT is split into two sections: Verbal and Quantitative. Each section is 22 minutes long, consisting of 55 multiple choice questions. As a result, students are required to answer all questions quickly. Five of these 55 questions are experimental, meaning they are unscored.

The verbal section measures the student’s understanding of vocabulary and the relationships between given words. The student will need to choose the pair of words that best fits a provided word analogy. The quantitative section measures the student’s mathematical reasoning ability. The questions typically do not require any computation. Instead, the student is required to compare two quantities and determine whether one is greater than the other, or if the two quantities are equal.

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