October 2023
Dear Parents/Guardians:
On Wednesday, October 18, 2023, Somerville High School will operate on a modified morning schedule to accommodate two different programs. All students in grades 10 and 11 will sit for the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) beginning at 7:35 am. The PSAT will provide our students with valuable experience and preparation for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and will also serve as the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test for all grade 11 students. Starting this fall, the College Board has transitioned to the new digital PSAT and details are included below.
Students in grade 9 will attend a morning program beginning at 7:35 AM that includes an activities fair and small group sessions with Guidance Counselors. Students in grade 12 must arrive for the start of homeroom at 10:25 AM and will enter through the gym ramp. Seniors who require bus transportation must take their regularly scheduled bus and report to the gym until testing is complete. There will NOT be a second round of busing for Seniors.
Any 10th or 11th grade students who attend Somerset County VoTech “A shop” will remain at Somerville High School for the administration of the test. Vo-Tech will be contacted to excuse “A Shop” students for the day. 9th and 12th grade Vo-Tech “A shop” students are to report to Somerset County Vocational High School as usual.
New Digital PSAT Details
Students will test using the College Board's Bluebook Testing App, which has already been installed onto all students' chromebooks.
In the next few days, students will receive a registration ticket that will allow them to use the Bluebook app to complete practice tests and explore other features that are built into the software (i.e. calculator, highlighter tools, etc...)
The new digital PSAT is almost an hour shorter than the pencil/paper version and it uses an adaptive testing model. Score reporting remains the same, with total scores ranging from 320 to 1520.
For information on additional features, please view this short video published by the College Board.
What does my child need to bring to the exam?
Fully charged chromebook
Handheld Calculators are optional and must be included on this approved list. A graphing calculator is built into the testing software for all students to use
All other electronics, including smart watches, will be stored or collected prior to testing. Possession of these items will result in score cancellation as per College Board policies.
Pencils and scrap paper will be provided by the proctor.
Please contact me with any additional questions.
Mr. Mulligan
District Test Coordinator