PSAT on a School Day

Art+credits+to+Joyce+An%21

Art credits to Joyce An!

Emily Pan ‘18

The 2015 PSAT was administered during school hours on Wednesday, October 14, taking place on a weekday for the first time since its inception in 1971. This shift in scheduling was only one of several changes for the PSAT, foreshadowing changes to the SAT later this school year.

According to the College Board, the change in test dates was made to accommodate the many requests by students and schools over the years. Weekend testing in previous years meant that students were forced to miss extracurricular activities, including athletic practices and games, creating a negative impact on team performance.

Additionally, weekday testing allows students to take their regular weekday transportation to school, eliminating the need for additional weekend transportation to a potentially unfamiliar test site. The familiar surroundings and staff were also cited as a way to potentially lower test-related stress. However, Saturday testing will be offered again in 2016 in order for schools to see whether this change is truly necessary.

Sophomore Vishaal Kasinath ‘18 admits that the PSATs are “much more convenient now that they are on Wednesdays. It doesn’t just make the school day shorter, but now I can go to practice on Saturday or hang out with friends.” Many students feel similarly that having the PSAT on a weekday helpfully frees up an extra day of the weekend.

Even freshmen find this new change to be much more convenient: Albert Gu ‘19 admitted that “taking a standardized test at Ridge High School with a teacher I know is a lot more reassuring. Even though Ridge is still an unfamiliar place, taking the PSAT here will help me rather than taking it on a weekend and having to go to another school.”

In addition to the new weekday schedule, the College Board also made significant changes to the format and content of this year’s PSAT, reflecting similar changes that will be made to the SAT beginning in the spring of 2016. These format and content changes are the reason that the PSAT is only offered once this fall with one make-up date (as opposed to twice with one make-up, as has occurred in past years).

A final change, coming as extremely welcome news to some students, is the removal of the requirement to write in cursive on an initial exam certification statement. Finally, the source of unnecessary frustration for many test-takers who have long forgotten their elementary school education has now been eliminated.

The new program of having SAT tests on a Wednesday is a radical change for Ridge High school and students. College Board continues to try new things and experiment to accommodate the needs of students throughout the country.