Students at Lakeland Regional High School will take the digital PSAT on Wednesday, October 11, 2023 to prepare students for the SAT and other standardized tests, help students meet graduation requirements, and give students the opportunity to potentially earn scholarships.
This year, the PSAT moved online to prepare students for the fully digital SAT that will start in spring of 2024. Paper tests will no longer be offered after that point. In order to make sure all LRHS students were ready for the change, Ms. Jamie Cawley, the testing coordinator at LRHS, has worked extensively to make sure all students are able to login and test efficiently on Wednesday.
According to CollegeBoard, the web-based test makes it easier for staff to issue the PSAT without paper materials. Additionally, if a teacher (proctor) or student is having technical trouble, CollegeBoard now requires a “help room,” which, according to Ms. Cawley, will be located in the Media Center.
The only requirement of students is to have a charged Chromebook when entering their testing room.
A student’s total test score will range between 320 and 1520. The overall score of the PSAT is the sum of all sections. For each section of the test, a student can earn around 160-760 points. If opted in, students will receive text messages when their scores are finalized.
What’s New?
Like on the old test, the three areas of testing are reading, writing, and math. However, there are now only two sections, instead of three. Like before, each section will be timed and there will be a break between the Reading and Writing Section and Math Section.
While students may have seen long, droning questions on the previous paper PSAT, the digital form has been structured to be more concise. In the Math portion of the test, students will be given shorter, straight to the point questions, whereas the Reading and Writing section now offers condensed paragraphs that are written for the purpose of an individual question.
In the Math Section, now calculators can be used on all math questions. Also, students can use their own calculators, but Bluebook will also offer a digital one as well.
Also, if students are interested, Bluebook, the app installed on the school supplied Chromebooks, offers practice tests; it is the same app that will be used for testing.
