College & Career testing opportunities for Newport students–many free

Bellevue School District sponsors free opportunities for students to take a number of career planning, college admissions, and Advanced Placement exams.

• Those administered during “Super Wednesday” in mid October are free.
• Students pay a fee for each Advanced Placement (AP) exam they take in May. Many colleges will grant course credits to students based on their scores on these exams. (Check with each college for its policy.)
• We offer scholarships for AP exams to students receiving Free & Reduced-Price food supports based on family income.

Super Wednesday Exams

• 9th graders take the Preliminary SAT-9 (PSAT-9), an adapted version of the PSAT designed for 9th grade. It provides feedback on a student’s academic strengths, guidance to careers based on those strengths, and gives students experience with sitting for college admissions exams.
• 10th graders take the Practice ACT, which provides feedback to students on college and career readiness and aptitude. The exam also gives students further experience with college testing.
• 11th graders take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). Results of this exam automatically enter eligible students into the National Merit Scholarship program. Results of this exam may be used to meet college admissions requirements for this exam.
• On Super Wednesday, 12th graders work with our English Department staff to develop and revise their college entrance essays or job applications for those not planning on college.

Advanced Placement Courses & Exams

Newport offers dozens of Advanced Placement (AP) courses. These courses offer several advantages:

• Develops the independent study skills that enable students to thrive in rigorous college and on-the-job learning. Rigor is more than difficulty; the concept includes the depth and breadth of information and critical thinking skills to process and assess that information and then apply it to real-world problems.
• Students can enhance their college admissions applications by demonstrating their ability to follow a subject in depth. The choice of the AP courses and the number taken should be considered carefully. Keep these facts in mind:
  • It is not the number of courses and exams that sets a student apart. One or two courses demonstrate a student’s intellectual ability to handle college-level material. Highly selective universities look for students who use AP opportunities to delve deeply into a subject that fascinates them. They seek students who use those classroom experiences to ground extra-curricular work, research, etc. in that field. This demonstrates an ability to focus and persevere through difficult material and challenging application of what they learn.
  • Grades and AP exam scores matter more than the number of AP courses. Students should plan carefully, considering their academic skills and their outside-school commitments.
  • Teachers and Counselors can help students determine a course of study that suits both their interests and their ability to thrive under the academic burden they commit to pursuing. Once a student registers for courses, it is very rarely possible to drop classes if the burden is too great. Help your student choose wisely, perhaps by starting with one or two and taking on more the following year.

AP course exams

Students register for AP course exams through their course teacher during second semester. Families can pay the fees through the district fee portal (Touchbase) or apply for a scholarship.

Taking the course is not required to sit for the exam. To learn more about this option, please visit the College Board website.

Free exam prep and homework help available for AP courses through the King County Library System (KCLS)

• Students will go to https://kcls.org/online/
• Scroll down and click Tutor.com
• Log in with KCLS Login (directions here: Direction)
• On the right side, click “Other Tools”