D got a letter from the State Board of Education today (yes, it’s real) congratulating her on her PSAT score and saying she is a “candidate to take AP Classes.” I’m a little confused - how is our (or anyone’s) state government tied into the College Board and why do they send letters?As most kids with a decent score are probably already taking AP classes, it seems like an odd letter to get. It includes an attachment which does appear to come from the College Board about “Taking AP Classes” but the letter itself clearly came from our State Dept of Ed. I’m assuming it is sent to a certain score cutoff so I didn’t want to ask any of my friends about this - but I really don’t get it. Has anyone’s kid received one of these?
BTW, I don’t think she will make any kind of National Merit cutoff so it has nothing to do with that.
The schools in this state (same state) determine who will take AP scores. The PSAT score has nothing to do with it. My kids were already enrolled in AP courses before they even got their PSAT scores.
I can’t believe they are spending money to generate and send these worthless letters.
And I would want to know who sent my kid’s scores to the state.
When TCB’s main competition has been in cahoots with a vast number of states to make the ACT mandatory, is it surprising that the PSAT results are shopped like Polo shirts at Marshall’s?
A better question might be about WHY are PSAT scores still sent to high schools instead of using the same delivery method as the SAT?
All in all, the answer to all of this “sharing” should be a simple mechanism to OPT IN that permits parents to decide if they want to share the scores and benefit from any early “discovery” programs. The default SHOULD be that any information is completely under the control of the students and their parents for as long as THEY decide to change it.
This. Our kid’s high school annoyingly held onto the scores until the day before winter break every year. I wanted to plan spring break college trips, and needed the info as soon as they had it.
It’s part of a program known as “AP Potential,” which identifies students with PSAT scores that indicate they could do well in AP courses. I gather a school, district, or state can choose to opt in to the program. www.collegeboard.com/counselors/app/demo.html
If you hang out on CC, you probably assumed your child would take AP classes one day. Not all parents are so well informed.
Are you sure it was mailed from your state board of education, or is it possible that the state board provided a form letter to College Board and College Board mailed them out? I remember that letter from years past and thought it was just the state trying to encourage students taking the toughest classes available, which is in the state’s interest. And of course CB loves to encourage AP classes any way possible.
Sure, but what should anyone assume that a Junior Year performance on the PSAT is the signal to consider AP courses? Why not making packages of information available to … 8th graders that describe the expected curriculum for the projected students who will flunk out in 9th grade, who will start with advanced courses in the 10th, and will be competitive for college applications.
If there was ever a need for the “state” to be involved, it would to force all high schools to expand their profile and make it mandatory to not only distribute but make a presentation to the full assembly. And full assembly means from freshman to seniors. That way naïve frosh and their parents could ask the older ones: “Did it work as they presented?”
Why is it so hard for the people in charge to execute the simplest of things, and the things that actually DO help students and their parents?
It’s grimly funny to say this, but the state doesn’t have that power. It can’t dictate school behavior to that degree. If you think a bit, I’m sure you could come up with ways to frustrate the intention of such an action–or to satisfy the letter but not the spirit.
This is a sensible use of the PSAT. If your school does not gatekeep AP courses, count yourself lucky. Many high schools do. There are students who are not invited to take AP because they don’t fit local, preconceived notions of what an AP student should look like.
I wanted to plan spring break college trips, and needed the info as soon as they had it.