PSAT testing and School-Day SAT

September 9, 2024

Bellevue School District will offer an opportunity for juniors and seniors to take the PSAT and/or SAT during the school day in the 2024-25 school year. We are pleased to be able to offer the PSAT and SAT during the school day free of charge to ensure access to the exam for all students.

SAT scores are one of several tools that colleges and universities can use to determine a student’s readiness for college work. Although many undergraduate institutions have made SAT and/or ACT exam scores optional, there are colleges that do consider these scores in their review process and some schools still require exam scores be submitted. SAT scores may also be utilized by students to fulfill an English Language Arts and math assessment requirement ‘pathway’ for graduation.

The SAT assessments are owned and developed by the College Board. The College Board recommends that students take the PSAT/NMSQT in fall of their junior year. The College Board also recommends that students take the SAT during the spring of their junior year and fall of their senior year.

During the month of October, current Juniors will have the opportunity to take the PSAT/NMSQT. Individual schools will determine a testing date or dates during the October 1 – 31 testing window. Families should watch for communication from their school about PSAT testing. Students will be able to use their PSAT scores to identify areas for SAT test preparation using free services from Khan Academy.

The fall PSAT and the fall and spring SAT are offered by the College Board in their new digital format. Below are some details about the new digital test.

Digital PSAT and SAT exams:

• Maintain same scoring scale as paper/pencil PSAT and SAT.
• Are shorter and adaptive (2 hours, 15 minutes vs. 3 hours, 30 minutes for the paper/pencil test)
• Include 1 Reading and Writing section (instead of 2). This portion of the exam features shorter passages, wider variety of topics/authors, and one prompt per passage. Total of 54 questions/64 minutes.
• Include 1 Math section (instead of 2). A calculator allowed on entire section. A Desmos calculator is built in to the testing app, though students can use their own approved calculator if they choose. Total of 44 questions/70 minutes.
• Provide universal testing tools – Calculator, reference sheets, flag questions to review later, hideable test timer, annotation tools, help button, etc.

Schools will facilitate technology check-ins with juniors in advance of the digital PSAT to ensure that students have downloaded the testing application and have an opportunity to practice prior to their test date.

Additional information is available at https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt

The fall school-day SAT for seniors will be held during the October testing window. Individual schools will determine a test date(s) and communicate the method for seniors to ‘opt in’ to take the SAT.  SAT scores are and score reports are available about two weeks after students take the SAT. Students should sign in to their College Board account to receive their scores. Seniors do not need to sign up on the College Board site but will need to let their school that they plan to test. Please watch for and respond to communication about the fall SAT for seniors sent from your school.

The spring school-day SAT for juniors will be scheduled during the spring testing window, March 3-April 30. Schools will schedule their own testing date in March in order to avoid unique school conflicts as much as possible. Like the PSAT, juniors do not need to sign up through the College Board.

For information on how to apply for College Board testing accommodations, please visit the College Board website https://accommodations.collegeboard.org/. If a student has had accommodations approved for a previous College Board test, such as an AP exam or the PSAT they do not need to reapply.

Bellevue School District will continue to host one fall and one spring Saturday SAT testing opportunity in service of our students and families, and those in our larger community