Freshmen, sophomores and juniors entered their assigned rooms with only a calculator and pencil this morning to take the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test.

“It was hard because I didn’t know a lot of the material,” freshman Amelia Estes said after taking the test.

The PSAT is a standardized test that is offered at most high schools to juniors alone, however freshmen and sophomores take it at Convent.

Reading, writing, math without a calculator and math with a calculator are the four sections of the test.

“It really exposes the students to that type of standardized testing and to have an environment that can give them the opportunity to take a test where it’s a low risk environment, it just gives them practice,” Academic Support Director Betsy Pfeiffer said.

Students wore their uniforms today though in the past they been given the option to wear free dress.

“When you sit for a test you want to be in a certain mind frame,” Pfeiffer said. “We felt that since you wear a uniform to school everyday you would still have that mind frame.”

Test takers were dismissed at 11:30 a.m.  

“I believe that certain aspects of standardized testing can be really good, but there are certain areas that are more based on your opinion which are more difficult to grade on the standard form,” sophomore Kelly Rosanelli said.