PSAT

PSAT 8 and PSAT/NMSQT

All enrolled 8th, 10th, and 11th graders in Northwest ISD will have the opportunity to take the PSAT during the school day. 8th graders will take the PSAT 8/9, and 10th/11th graders will participate in the PSAT/NMSQT. More information on these assessments can be found on the CollegeBoard PSAT 8/9 and PSAT/NMSQT websites. Students may be able to use their PSAT/NMSQT scores as a temporary waiver to take dual credit for one semester. Students taking dual credit on a waiver must take and score college-ready on TSIA, SAT, or ACT during their waiver semeter inorder to continue taking dual credit. PSAT 8/9 cannot be used as a waiver.

About the PSAT/NMSQT and PSAT 8/9

Promoting College Readiness: The PSAT/NMSQT helps students become college-ready. It provides detailed feedback on skills, access to scholarships and personalized online tools, and excellent practice for the SAT. The PSAT/NMSQT assesses reading, math, and writing skills. It does so in the same format for the SAT, which can help create a specific study plan for future success on the SAT. However, there are some very clear advantages of taking the PSAT.

For instance:

National Merit Scholarship Program

PSAT/NMSQT scores are used as an initial screen of entrants to the National Merit Scholarship Program, which recognizes outstanding academic achievement by U.S. high school students. Click here to learn more about the National Merit Scholarship Program

Recognition of Outstanding Hispanic/Latino Students

The College Board recognizes academically outstanding Hispanic/Latino U.S. high school students. Click here to learn more about the National Hispanic Recognition Program

National Scholarship Service

The National Scholarship Service offers a free college advisory and referral service for eleventh-grade African-American students. To participate write to: National Scholarship Service 980 Martin Luther King Drive, SW, PO Box 11409 Atlanta, GA 30310

Telluride Seminar Scholarships

The Telluride Association offers scholarships to gifted eleventh-grade students for their six-week summer program in the humanities and social sciences. Telluride Association Website

Give It a Try and See for Yourself

What will the redesigned PSAT/NMSQT and the PSAT 10 really be like? Find out firsthand by printing and taking the official redesigned PSAT/NMSQT practice test.

Presentation Recordings

Accommodations

The following information is provided to parents and students who qualify for Special Education or Section 504. It is meant to help provide information on the process of applying for accommodations through the College Board (SAT, AP and PSAT/NMSQT). If you think your child will need accommodations on any test offered by these entities, please be sure to read through the information carefully and take note of NISD campus deadlines that must be adhered to in order for us to submit requests by College Board deadlines.

In order to use accommodations on College Board tests, accommodations must be approved by the College Board's Department of Services for Students with Disabilities. With limited exceptions, once approved for accommodations, students remain approved and do not have to reapply when they register for future College Board tests. This includes the SAT, AP and PSAT/NMSQT programs.

Note that the use of accommodations in school, or on an Individual Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan does not automatically qualify a student for accommodations on ACT or College Board tests. Students are required to apply separately for ACT testing and/or College Board testing accommodations.

Not all students with disabilities require accommodations. Some accommodations received by students in school are not necessary for the purposes of participating in College Board tests. To ensure that the College Board provides the right accommodations, a student's documentation must meet their criteria.

Students who show that their disabilities affect participation in a College Board exam are eligible to take those exams with accommodations. Using accommodations not approved by the College Board results in cancellation of scores. No one is automatically approved.

To be eligible for accommodations on College Board tests, a student must have a documented disability. The documentation needed depends on the student’s disability and the accommodations being requested. In some cases, documentation must be submitted to the College Board.

Information can also be obtained by contacting the College Board directly at:

Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD), College Board SSD Program, P.O. Box 8060, Mt. Vernon, Illinois 62864-0060 Phone: (609) 771-7137

The College Board Parent Consent Form can be found at: Requesting Accommodations

Visit the College Board's Accommodations site for more information.

Staff Testing Suggestions

Your team should consist of APs, the librarian, a student services facilitator and nurse.
Cross train everyone on every part but have a few with specific duties. Make a checklist.
Offer many sessions of training in one day, make a list of each person who needs to attend training, cross off when they come.
Have the nurse send list of students with medications. Have a table set up in hall for her to administer medications during break. The list will help notate which students to send.
Have student backpacks at the front of the room, with phones set to off (not just vibrate). Have student place snacks on the outside of the backpack. They are not allowed to open the backpacks at all during testing.