High School Academic Counseling

In addition to counselors and teachers, SAS programming supports and mentors high school student's growth and development with other additional resources.

Academic Advising

Academic advising at SAS is facilitated by counselors and faculty. Each year in the spring, counselors meet with students in small groups to discuss course options for the following high school year. Students are encouraged to speak with their current teachers regarding the most appropriate course for them in each subject area, and counselors assist students with maintaining a manageable and balanced load.

Standardized Testing

Standardized testing occurs at all four grade levels. Freshmen take the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) in the fall and spring and they take the PSAT 8/9 in October. In October, sophomores take the Pre-ACT while our Juniors take the PSAT/NMQAT. In the middle of the junior year and beginning of the senior year, students register for the ACT and/or SAT. SAS is a college board testing site. SAS recommends that students begin their preparation for college admission tests in the second half of the Junior year.

Academic Support

Teachers are always available and accessible for student-initiated meetings. Peer tutoring is also available through our academic honors students in various subject areas. Supervised Study, during a student’s free period, is another option for students who need a bit more focus and supervision. Also offered is a formal Learning Support program in which students who have an identified academic need work with certified staff to provide academic accommodations, learning strategies and social supports.

Graduation and College Requirements

The SAS graduation requirements are minimum requirements. They are purposely set low so that students who transfer to our school late in high school can graduate. SAS students are expected to aim much higher, and to complete the college-recommended requirements. The SAS curriculum is a robust, college preparatory curriculum that challenges students with both Advanced Placement (AP) and Advanced Topic (AT) courses.

Required courses Minimum Credits College
English 4.0 4
Mathematics 2.0 4
Science 2.0 3 – 4
Social Studies* 2.0 3 – 4
Language**intermediate3 – 4
Visual / Performing Arts 1.0 1
Physical Education 1.5
Health Education 0.5
Interim Semester***0.25 – 1
Catalyst project (Class of 2017 onwards)0.5
Minimum Total Credits****24.0

*US citizens (not dual citizens) are required to earn one credit in U.S. History
**Two years of study of the same foreign language (e.g., Chinese, French, or Spanish at the Novice and Intermediate levelS)
***Students must participate in an Interim Semester course each year they are at SAS — one of which must be a service course. One Interim service course (0.25) is required.
****The minimum credits listed above are the least amount of credits required to earn a Singapore American School diploma; completing them would not be sufficient for admission into university. Aim towards the credits in the "College" column.

Going the Extra Mile

The teachers at SAS make it such a special school. Here the teachers truly care about us: they go the extra mile to help us outside class-hours, they care about our personal well being and they’re our friends, their banter and jokes livening up the classroom. A common trait amongst all my teachers is that they want each student to succeed. The amount of time, effort and energy they put in for us is what I think makes SAS such a stimulating environment.

Janvi Kalra (Class of 2017)