Students should never take the official test for practice purposes. Given that several highly selective colleges require students to submit all test scores, it is not in any student’s best interest to take the test prematurely.
If a student is taking the SAT, we recommend they take their first formal sitting in March of the junior year. That leaves multiple future dates for the student to take both the SAT I and the SAT II Subject Tests. Keep in mind, too, that students tend to do better on standardized testing the more mature they are. By March of a student’s junior year, they are usually at a place in both their mathematics and English courses to do well on the test.
For students who prefer the ACT, typically February or April of the junior year is a good time to try the official test.
Athletes hoping to be recruited should plan on taking the SAT in December or March or ACT in February.