The school had the 8th and 9th grade students partake in the annual PSAT testing schedule normally reserved for 10th grade. Many students, staff, and even parents are having mixed opinions about this early preparation, with some believing that the school will get deeper insights of their student’s strengths, and others thinking that it may be premature for these students to take it this early in their educational stage.
While there are some similarities with the contents of the PSAT 8/9 compared to the normal SAT, there are still some differences. The exam consists of 3 broad groups including reading, math, and writing/language. Like the SAT, the reading part targets analysis and understanding the way writers communicate, while the writing/language part asks students to take grammatically incorrect passages and improve upon them. The math section aligns with the pattern of the math SAT in which test takers are made to show their reasoning. Although, these sections are shorter and grade students in a way that corresponds with their grade level.
Having students take the PSAT this early on will help them plan their future. According to “All About the PSAT 8/9,” it explains that the PSAT 8/9 can help students set a baseline of what skills they need to practice improving, while helping them pick what classes are necessary for the student. In addition to this, teachers, and parents will be able to keep track of their child’s improvement throughout each assessment.
On the other hand, many were not ready for this change, feeling like they were not informed soon enough. “For the math part, I didn’t feel prepared at all.” student Paige Sorrentino said. “I’m in Geometry but it was all Algebra 1 so there wasn’t diversity.”
Some also felt that we didn’t need the extra test added onto the NWEA and FAST. “I wasn’t expecting us to do it, but it was nice to have the practice,” said 8th-grader Eva Ramos. She thought with all the testing we had; we wouldn’t need a third test to worry about. “It doesn’t help to show how we are progressing because we have the NWEA for that and it actually has questions for our grade level.”