South prepares students for spring SAT

Caitlin Deerwester, Staff Writer

The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude test (PSAT) is a tool created to help students prepare for the Scholastic Aptitude test (SAT), which is now taken in the spring throughout Illinois.

“The PSAT is a pretest to help figure out where you are at before the SAT,” said Kristi Boe, the Assistant Principal of Student Services. “Once the results are in, you get an online account and can see how you did, and it can give you the questions you need to work on.”

Boe believes this may help students with subjects in which they are struggling before they take the SAT. She hopes that the PSAT will increase scores for the SAT, especially for freshman and sophomores who know what to expect when they are a junior.

“As a junior you will take the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying test, so when [juniors] take it, hopefully they will score well. Then juniors could become possible candidates for the National Merit Scholar,” counselor Shelly Naheedy explained.

The National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT) is like the PSAT; however, if students score well, it could lead to a National Merit Scholar.

“It can make them more comfortable for the SAT by preparing students for the time restraints and it gives them exposure for what to expect on the test,” Naheedy said.

While the PSAT and the NMSQT are meant to help students ready for the seriousness of the SAT as Naheedy and Boe both stated, some students think it adds more to the stress. Junior Ryan Bitner is one of those students.

“I didn’t get a lot of sleep beforehand, so during the test I was very tired and didn’t preform my best,” says Bitner. “I don’t think the PSAT will help me for the SAT since it just added to my stresses, and I couldn’t prepare for the PSAT,” Bitner said, while rolling his eyes.

Bitner explains that the SAT is something he can study for so he doesn’t understand the need to add another test into his work load.

Not all students see the PSAT in the same light that Bitner does. Dakota Haynes, sophomore, thinks the PSAT was easy in the reading section but it was sometimes hard to understand all the information and questions. The questions were worded awkwardly, according to Haynes.

“I believe it (PSAT) will help with the SAT because we now know how the questions will be set up and the testing situation,” Haynes said.

This was the first time that the PSAT and NMSQT were distributed, so teachers and administrators didn’t know what to expect.

Boe thinks that for the first year doing these tests the students and teachers did a good job; however, now that we have more information, they can prepare the students better next year.

“The PSAT is a good reflection piece if students look at their results and see where their strengths and weaknesses are, so students can focus on those weaknesses for the next test,” Naheedy stated.

The PSAT is great for seeing subjects that students need to work on, but as Naheedy explained, it isn’t just the test, it’s the student, too. Students have to take responsibility and try on the PSAT and NMSQT, because they will at least understand the testing, Boe said.

“People should look at the test as something to see where they are at and to where they need to be because everyone’s ultimate goal is to go to college and have a career,” Boe said. “We want students to not be surprised about their score, but instead, have a planned future. That is one of the main reasons we gave the PSAT to all grades (besides seniors).”