PSAT Information
Dear Juniors and Parents,
This year, all Juniors will be required to take the digital PSAT/NMSQT test on Tuesday, October 8th, 2024. This test is both a Preliminary SAT test as well a National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. In addition to being excellent preparation for the SAT, students might qualify for recognitions such as National Merit Commended Student, National Merit Semi-Finalist/Finalist, and several National Merit Recognition Programs (see below for information on these programs). All juniors will be excused from their E and F block classes on test day.
We recognize that most colleges and universities no longer require standardized testing as part of the admissions process. In fact, all of the public universities in California (the 9 University of California campuses and the 23 California State University campuses) are Test Free, which means they will not consider test scores. Many other colleges and universities are Test Optional, which means that a student can decide whether or not to submit test scores. Others, however, still require test scores from either the SAT or ACT for admissions or scholarship purposes. For this reason, we want our juniors to take advantage of the PSAT as a practice test and then families can decide whether their daughter will take an official SAT or ACT. PSAT scores are not reported on college applications.
The link below will give students and parents some additional information on the benefits of taking the PSAT as well as identify some resources for students to prepare for the PSAT:
Additionally, our school has partnered with Revolution Prep to offer a practice digital PSAT on Saturday, September 14th, 2024 from 9:00am – 12:00pm. If possible, we recommend that students take this practice PSAT, as the proctor will be sharing a lot of information about the structure of the digital PSAT and what to expect on test day, as well as offer follow up sessions to discuss each student’s PSAT score. See additional information below.
Juniors can expect an email from Sarah Cornell, our Testing Coordinator, with more detailed information about test day as we get closer to the date of the exam. Please note that in addition to taking the PSAT on October 8, all juniors are required to attend a mandatory PSAT pre-administration session on Thursday, October 3 during late start (8:00am – 9:00am). This session is mandatory because our technology department must be able to ensure that each student’s chromebook has the necessary applications and students will have a chance to complete preliminary information so that test day runs smoothly.
Sincerely,
SFHS Administration Team