Qualifying for ATS

ATS is designed for high achieving students currently enrolled in sixth through ninth grade who fall into one of the following groups:

students who score at the 90th percentile or above on subtests of the standardized achievement test used by the school (CAT/6, Stanford9, etc.)
students who score at the "advanced" level on the California Standards Tests
students who participate in a GATE program or who have been identified as gifted
students who wish to participate or whose parents want for them to participate

Current sixth through ninth grade students (students entering grades 7 through 10 for Fall 2008) who meet one or more of these criteria qualify for the ATS program and should take the ATS Qualifying Exam, the College Ability Test, in order to participate in classes.

About the Qualifying Exam

The ATS Qualifying Exam is a 40 minute, multiple choice test which is used by ATS to identify highly able students who may benefit from special academic opportunities. It is an assessment test which measures students' aptitude for learning rather than their knowledge of specific content.

There are two parts to the Qualifying Exam: a 20 minute verbal section comprised of analogies and a 20 minute math section containing quantitative comparisons.

Taking the Qualifying Exam

The ATS Qualifying Exam is administered:

at Sacramento area schools (January - March)
on the Sacramento State campus (January - March)
in the ATS Office (March - June)

Understanding Exam Scores

Approximately 3 weeks after testing, students will receive a score report which presents their exam results. The ATS scores listed on the report are needed for applying to classes. In addition to the ATS scores, local and national grade level normative data for the student is provided. A detailed explanation of scores is included with the score report.