Wednesday, October 11, 2017

PSAT 8/9 Testing Next Week

On October 11th, students across the district will be taking the PSAT. Our eighth grade students will also be taking the PSAT 8/9 in October while many other students will be participating in SAT testing on October 7th and November 4th. How can we help prepare our students? How can we help students understand the purpose of these assessments?

The PSAT and SAT assessments are designed to ‘measure the essential ingredients for college and career readiness and success, as shown by research.’ The scores for the PSAT 8/9, PSAT NMSQT, and the SAT are all parallel which makes it easy for students, parents, and educators to understand and interpret the scores.

The College Board and Khan Academy provides lessons, tutorial, and thousands of questions for student and teacher use. Students may work independently or teachers can use the questions in their lessons. As of Fall 2017, teachers can view progress and practice on Official SAT Practice for both their classes and individual students, making it easier than ever for teachers to support students in preparing for the SAT.

View the following videos and resources for more information:

• PSAT Resources (overviews, auto call scripts, email templates, sample social posts, PowerPoints, etc.)
• teacher resources (information about Khan Academy’s coaching tools)
• overview of Official SAT Practice video (student Khan Academy experience)
• SAT Practice Lesson Plans for Teachers by Teachers
• College and Career Readiness Benchmarks for the SAT Suite of Assessments
• SAT Student Guide
• Khan Academy
• College Board Parent Webinars

Information from KhanAcademy.org and collegeboard.org