Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test

The Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (abbreviation "SweSAT"; "Högskoleprovet" in Swedish) is a standardized test used as one of the means to gain admission to higher education in Sweden. The test itself, which is administered by the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education, is divided into five sections and contains 122 multiple-choice questions. All sections are taken in one day, a Saturday in April (Spring test) or October (Fall test), lasting between 7½-8 hours including breaks between each section and a lunch break. Apart from the English language reading comprehension test, all sections are taken in Swedish. The result on the test is normalized to a scale between 0.0 and 2.0, with 0.1 increments. About 0.6% of the test-takers are awarded 2.0, which is the highest grade. Usually, 109 or 110 marks (out of 122) are required for 2.0. The average normated score for the test is normally around 0.95, with the test being normalised so that approximately one third of test-takers receive a score in the range 0.9-1.1.

The questions and answers to the test are posted the same day as the exam in the evening newspapers and the following day in morning newspapers. Solutions can also be found in SVTs text-TV, online on the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education's website, studera.nu, and the official Högskoleprovet website.

Sections

The test is divided into 5 sections. Each are given in sessions lasting 50 minutes, with the exception of the ELF and ORD sections being grouped into one session (35 and 15 minutes, respectively). One of these sections is given twice, with only one of these being counted towards the test-takers' total scores and the other section is being used to evaluate questions for future tests, with the test-takers being unaware of which section is being counted towards their total.

#DTK – Diagrams, Tables and Maps. This subtest measures the ability to interpret diagrams, tables and maps. The questions demand both the ability to identify information and to analyse data from different sources. This subtest consists of 20 questions out of the total 122. (50 minutes)
#ORD – Vocabulary. This subtest tests awareness of the meaning of words and concepts. The words may be of Swedish or foreign origin. They may also be archaic or words that have come into use in Swedish in recent years. Some words are dialectal. The items are taken from many different subject areas, and may also include widely used technical terms. This subtest consists of 40 questions out of the total 122. (15 minutes)
#LÄS – Reading Comprehension. This section tests the ability to understand five different texts in Swedish. The questions require the capacity to perceive details in the text and also to draw conclusions from the text as a whole. This subtest consists of 20 questions out of the total 122. (50 minutes)
#ELF – English Reading Comprehension. The ability to read and understand a non-fictitious text (often picked from newspapers or magazines) in English is tested in this section. It contains both long and short texts. One of the longer tests is a "Cloze test", which contains gaps where words have been omitted. The emphasis of this subtest is on the capacity to perceive information, follow an argument and draw conclusions on the basis of the text in English. This subtest consists of 20 questions out of the total 122. (35 minutes)
#NOG – Data Sufficiency. This section involves deciding whether enough information has been provided to solve a problem in arithmetic or geometry. The items require some mathematical skills, but is primarily aimed at testing the ability to draw logical conclusions. This subtest consists of 22 questions out of the total 122. (50 minutes)

The test-takers are allowed to mark down their answers on an additional provided answer sheet in addition to the sheet that they hand in to test supervisor. The test-takers are allowed to bring this with them after the test is concluded, and can use it to check their answers against the test key which are published on the internet, teletext and newspapers after the test is completed. This only allows the test-takers to find out their raw score, as opposed to the normalized score which is used for university applications, but by comparing this results to the normalisation tables of prior tests an accurate estimate can be made.

ee also

*SAT, the US equivalent
*List of admissions tests
*List of universities in Sweden
*Education in Sweden

External links

* [http://www.umu.se/edmeas/hprov/ Högskoleprovet] - Official site
* [http://www.hsv.se/ Swedish National Agency for Higher Education] - Official site
* [http://www.hpguiden.se/forums.html Högskoleprovguidens Forum] - Big forum devoted to SWESAT (högskoleprovet) with discussions about everything from specific exam questions and higher education.
* [http://www.provtips.com/ Provtips] - Old exams, forum and hints and tips for the SWESAT (högskoleprovet)