<p>Dbate- i understand where youre coming from but when i was taking the PSAT, i was never told it was important, or that i could even get a scholarship if i did well. i was the only AA in my class at the time, and i never received any guidance whatsoever in terms of standardized testing. Compared to my peers whom payed thousands of dollars to have tutors, and take classes that i couldnt afford. in addition to that, i bet you money the people who were finnalists prepared, theres no way you can just walk in and take the exam and magically do well, it takes preparation. preparation involves money. Another problem i noticed with my own family members were that some of them couldnt even afford to pay to register for the PSAT, so they ended up taking the SAT without any taste of what the test would be like. i dont know if its just me but i didnt slack, i am HORRIBLE at taking exams, but i do extremely well in school, im in the top 14% while i struggle on the SAT. i think it just depends on peoples case, not all blacks are “slacking”. I always say this to my younger sister who is now a junior, before she took the PSAT i helped her prepare because she also couldnt afford materials to prepare while our mom is unemployed, i told her if i knew how important the PSAT would be i would have been at least National achievement semifinalist because i would have tried to prepare in a cost effective manner. Thats just my $ 0.02!</p>