Because St. Mary’s Springs recognizes the importance of standardized testing especially in the college admissions process, standardized testing experiences are provided students at each grade level prior to the taking of the college entrance exam.Listed here is a brief description of each test.

8th Graders	For placement purposes at Springs, all 8th graders are required to take the EXPLORE in the fall of the year. The EXPLORE is the 8th grade version of the ACT and its categories include English, Math, Reading, and Science Reasoning. Scores from the EXPLORE are used for placement into math, science and foreign language classes. If a student is unable to sit for the EXPLORE, another standardized test may be utilized; often this is the Wisconsin Assessment.
9th Graders	All freshmen sit for the EXPLORE, the 9th grade version of the ACT. The EXPLORE establishes baseline data by measuring students’ verbal and numerical abilities in English, math, reading, and science. In addition, the EXPLORE helps students investigate and understand a wide variety of career options through the use of a popular interest inventory.
10th Graders	All sophomores sit for the PLAN, the 10th-grade version of the ACT. The PLAN measures progress in English, math, reading, and science. Some sophomores also sit for the PSAT.
11th Graders	All juniors sit for the PSAT-NMSQT as well as the career skills test, the ASVAB. The PSAT serves to acquaint students with the other college entrance exam, the SAT as well as providing them with entrance into the National Merit Scholarship competition program. The PSAT serves as a preliminary to the ACT. The ASVAB (given by the U.S. military) provides students with an assessment of their skills as applied to careers.

Juniors are also offered an ACT test prep program. Nearly all juniors participate in an intensive one-day workshop at Springs called the “ZAPS the ACT”. ZAPS costs approximately $60 and is scheduled to precede the April test of the ACT.