Today, the school day consisted of students grades ninth through eleventh taking the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT), as well as class meetings with various guest speakers. The PSAT is a practice test that students are able to take in preparation for the SAT used to apply to colleges.
In the past students required standardized test scores to get into their dream colleges. In recent years, as colleges have realized single scores do not represent students’ full potential on their own, they have become test-optional, according to Quad Education Group. Just over 80% of American colleges have now stated that they are test optional, and do not require student admissions to provide test scores according to The Inside Higher Education.
“There are a lot of colleges that are now test optional, or are not accepting scores now,” sophomore Vivienne Legg said. “I’m glad I took the test to practice for testing in general, but I am interested to see if we take it next year because so many colleges are becoming test optional,”
Current sophomores and juniors took the PSAT last year on paper, and this year the test was taken on computers using the application, Bluebook. Another new addition was that calculators were provided within the Bluebook application for both math sections instead of just one like the PSAT in the past. Digitalizing tests has pros and cons for each person such as having a timer displayed at the top of the screen showing your remaining time ,according to English teacher Julia Arce.
“Either way people are going to get tired because it is a long and monotonous test,” Arce said. “I believe that being online for so long would make people more tired, but some students may prefer that to bubbling in answers — especially having the timer directly on your screen might make test takers more anxious,”
Some students choose to take the SAT later on, so sometimes taking the PSAT offers really good practice, according to The Princeton Review. Convent & Stuart Hall grades nine through eleven take this test every year for this good practice.
“I am not sure whether I am taking the SAT later on, but I think the PSAT is good practice for learning how to take these standardized tests,” sophomore Ruby Quintos said. “We are tested on material that we haven’t learned yet, especially in the math section, so it’s not supposed to be super easy,”
This was the first time the PSAT has been digital, while the SAT and ACT were set to be digitized in the beginning of 2023, according to KD College Prep. The online version has its pros and cons according to Legg.
“I don’t know how to feel about the fact that the test was online,” Legg said. “I liked how I didn’t have to fill in the long bubble sheet, but staring at a screen the whole time was very tiring – the digital test had its pros and cons.”
