Higher education admissions tests—Annex
3
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| SAT | National Curriculum
| uniTEST |
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| Writing Section | |
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| Short Essay (1) | |
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| organise and express ideas clearly
| En3 1d-o |
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| develop and support the main idea
| En3 1d-o |
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| use appropriate word choice and sentence structure
| En3 1b, c, e, f |
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| Multiple Choice (49) | |
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| improve sentences and paragraphs
| En3 2a, b, c; 7a-e |
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| identify errors | En3 2a, b, c; 7a-e
| |
| Critical Reading Section (67) |
| Verbal and Plausible Reasoning (30)
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| Sentence Completion | |
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| knowledge of meaning of words |
En1 5; 6e; En2 1a |
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| understanding of how parts of sentences fit together
| En3 7a-e |
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| Passage Based Reading | |
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| vocabulary in context | En2 1a, g, 3a, b
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| literal comprehension | En2 1a, h, 3a, b
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| extended reasoning | En2 1a-d, g, h, i
| interpretation |
| | socio-cultural understanding
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| | Critical Reasoning (30)
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| | decision making
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| | argument analysis
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| Mathematics Section (54) |
| Quantitative and Formal Reasoning (30)
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| Number and Operation | |
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| arithmetic word problems | Ma2 4a
| problem solving |
| properties of integers | Ma2 2a-f
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| rational numbers | Ma2 2 c-d
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| logical reasoning | Ma2 1a-b
| problem solving |
| sets | KS2 (NNS)
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| counting techniques | KS2 Ma2 2a
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| sequences and series | Ma2 1j, 6a
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| elementary number theory | Ma2 2a
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| Algebra and Functions | |
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| substitution and simplifying algebraic expressions
| Ma2 5 | |
| properties of exponents | Ma2 6f
| |
| algebraic word problems | Ma2 5 h
| problem solving |
| solution of equations and inequalities
| Ma2 5e, f, i-m |
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| quadratic equations | Ma2 5k
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| rational and radical equations |
Ma2 5b, f, k |
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| equations of lines | Ma2 6b-h
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| absolute value | -
| |
| direct and inverse variation |
Ma2 5h | |
| concepts of algebraic functions
| Ma2 5 | |
| newly defined symbols based on commonly used ops.
| Ma2 5a |
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| Geometry and Measurement |
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| area and perimeter of a polygon
| Ma3 2i (KS2 Ma3 2e) |
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| area and circumference of a circle
| Ma2 5g, Ma3 2h |
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| volume of a box, cube and cylinder
| Ma3 2i |
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| Pythagorean theorem and special properties of triangles
| Ma3 2b, f |
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| properties of parallel and perpendicular lines
| Ma2 6c; Ma3 2a |
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| coordinate geometry | Ma3 3e
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| geometric visualisation | Ma3 2i
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| slope | Ma2 6c
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| similarity | Ma3 2g
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| transformations | Ma3 2g, 3b-d
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| Data Analysis, Statistics and Probability |
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| data interpretation | Ma4 1a 5
| dealing with information |
| statistics (mean, median and mode)
| KS3 Ma4 4b, e, f |
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| probability | Ma4 4b, c, d, g, h
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| NB Key Stage 4 National Curriculum English and Mathematics (higher) references are used, unless indicated.
|
| — The SAT and uniTEST were developed independently and, whilst there are some areas of similarity, there are many areas of difference. One of the clearest differences between the SAT and uniTEST is that much of the SAT assesses knowledge of formal elements of Mathematics and English—something that is intentionally avoided in uniTEST. The focus of uniTEST is primarily on the assessment of the reasoning skills that underpin higher education studies. This reflects the different contexts for which the two tests were designed: the SAT is used in the absence of a National Qualifications Framework; uniTEST would be used in addition to the National Qualifications Framework.
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| — The vast majority of the material covered by the SAT is included in the English and Mathematics programmes of study of the National Curriculum. The level of difficulty is roughly equivalent to Level 2 of the National Qualifications Framework (eg higher tier GCSE). It might be expected that performance on the SAT could be affected by a candidate's educational background, and by extensive preparation. Since uniTEST relies less on candidates' knowledge it is expected that, beyond a limited amount of familiarisation with the test, performance will be less susceptible to "coaching".
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| — Where there is overlap in the types of skills assessed by uniTEST and the SAT, the questions in uniTEST tend to be of a higher order of difficulty and complexity.
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