Wednesday marks PSAT day at Merrillville High School. Freshman, sophomores and juniors will spend the day completing a preview of Indiana’s standardized test. Although not the real SAT, it is still important for students to take the PSAT seriously so it can prepare them for the real deal.
“It is important for all students to participate in the PSAT administration to allow them to be more familiar and comfortable when they take the SAT in their junior year,” said Guidance Director Michelle O’Dell.
Students are aware of how important it is to prepare for the PSAT too. Knowing what types of questions will be on the PSAT can help students when taking the real SAT, especially the more complex ones.
“It’s good to review them and get them embedded in your mind each and every time,” said Junior Khoury Christion.
Along with the importance of getting comfortable when taking the SAT, preparing for the PSAT allows students to benefit academically.
“Students may also use scores to fulfill some high school graduation requirements,” O’Dell said. “SAT assesses high school mathematics, reading, and writing standards in grade 11.”
Even though the PSAT is a practice test, it still needs to be treated as the real thing. Because of this, students are encouraged to take the necessary steps to boost their chances of getting a good score. Students are encouraged to get a good sleep the night before, and eat breakfast in the morning.
Christion has been completing practice tests and simulating the testing environment.
“The steps I’ll take to prepare are honestly just to cut out as many distractions as possible,” he said. “I could possibly put on low classical music if I really want to. But if there’s anything that helps me stay in that quiet environment while I work, I prefer that as well.”
When taking the PSAT, students are encouraged to manage their time wisely due to the length of the test and the questions they’ll encounter.
“The exam is timed and the timer is at the top of the screen,” O’Dell said. “Students should consider answering the questions they feel confident with first, then go back and try the more difficult ones.”
Questions on both the PSAT and the SAT will get more difficult as you progress further in the test, so students are advised to not leave any question unanswered.
“It is multi-choice and you have a 25% chance of getting the correct answer even if you do not know the answer or how to solve it,” O’Dell said.
While the steps and risks when taking the PSAT can seem daunting at first, the main advice for students is to remain calm, confident, and to do the best they can.
“With the PSAT score, I’m aiming for somewhere past 1000,” said Junior Daniel Gonzalez. “My goal is to get the best score that I can possibly get. That’ll be the minimum score I’m aiming for, and I’ll be happy if I get higher than that.”
Once the PSAT is done and students receive their scores, they are recommended to use their PSAT scores to help prepare for the SAT test, reviewing what areas they need to improve on.
The scores can also provide motivation when the time comes to get a higher score on the real SAT.
“I’ll try to get a slightly higher score on the actual SAT since I’ll put in more effort because it isn’t the practice SAT,” Gonzalez said. “I would simply focus a lot more and get good rest, as well as study for some of the SAT questions.”
