It's
PSAT time, students get a multiple taste of
changes
Wednesday, October 13, 2004 • BY KELLY
HEYBOER AND BEV McCARRON • Star-Ledger Staff
High school sophomores and juniors are sharpening their
No. 2 pencils today, preparing to take a highly anticipated
practice version of the new SAT exam set to debut next
year.
More than 2.6 million students are expected to take the
PSAT today or Saturday in their local high schools. The
practice version of the nation's largest college entrance
exam is offered every fall to give sophomores and juniors a
taste of the official SAT test they will sit for to get into
college.
"It is meant to sort of mirror the SAT," said Kristin
Carnahan, a spokeswoman for the College Board, the group
that oversees both tests. "Students can get a good sense of
how they will do."
This year's Preliminary SAT is even more anticipated
than usual because it will give students, parents, educators
and the test-prep industry the first official look at some
big changes coming to the SAT.
Starting this spring, the overhauled SAT will include
harder math questions, a revised reading section and a new
essay section. The perfect score on the new version of the
test will be 2,400 instead of 1,600.
Though the revised SAT will not make its debut until
March, this year's 2 hour, 10 minute PSAT reflects most of
the alterations to the test. The changes to the PSAT
include:
The elimination of analogy questions ("Novelist is to
book as weaver is to ..."). The analogies, which are also
being dropped from the SAT, have been replaced with
questions about short reading passages.
Harder math questions. Though the PSAT does not include
the advanced Algebra II questions being added to the SAT,
the practice test gives younger students a taste of what is
to come.
Fewer multiple-choice questions. The PSAT requires
students to calculate and write in their answers to 10 math
questions, just as on the new SAT.
An optional essay section. Though the PSAT does not
officially include the 25-minute essay being added to the
SAT, school districts have been sent a practice essay
question they can add to the PSAT or offer at another time.
It will be up to each school district to decide whether it
wants to administer and score the essay.
While the practice essays will not be sent to the
College Board to score, school districts have been sent
instructions for teachers to grade the practice essays, to
give students a preview of how they might score on an actual
SAT essay.
"We wanted to make sure that we did provide something so
students could practice," Carnahan said.
When students get their PSAT scores in a few weeks, the
packet will include an analysis of how they did on each
section to help them prepare for the real SAT. For example,
students may be told they scored perfectly on questions
about geometry but need help with sentence-completion
questions and math problems that involve fractions.
In Madison, guidance counselor Phyllis Levy said
students have been prepping just as they have in the past.
They were given a sample exam to take home and told to
practice as much as they could before Saturday's exam, Levy
said.
"We expressed to them that they should spend as much
time studying for the new as they would for the old. It
being a new exam doesn't make it any less valid or more
valid," she said. "I would say they are not any more nervous
than they have been in past years."
The PSAT, which test-takers pay $11 each to take, is
more than just practice. The test also serves as the
qualifying exam for the National Merit Scholarship program.
Top scorers will be eligible for $2,500 college scholarships
and other awards through the national non-profit
program.
Though the PSAT was originally developed for juniors,
College Board officials are finding more and more sophomores
are signing up, to get a jump on preparing for the big
test.
At Montclair High School, 235 sophomores registered to
take the PSAT this year, twice as many as last year. The
school district sent letters to homes earlier this year
encouraging sophomores to take the new PSAT alongside
juniors.
Last spring, the district also invited representatives
from the College Board to speak to parents and students
about the changes to the exams.
"Most of our kids are pretty relaxed about it. They know
what to expect," said Jon Semcer, Montclair's director of
guidance. "There's still going to be some anxiety, but not
as much as there would have been. We've tried to be
pro-active."
Semcer said the high school wants students to grow
accustomed to the kinds of questions they will be asked on
the SAT. "The only way to get them ready for the required
testing is to take the PSAT," he said, "and we hope that
will raise our SAT score down the line."
Kelly Heyboer covers higher education. She may be reached
at (973) 392-5929, or kheyboer@starledger.com
© 2004 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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