PSAT on Ice

Parents Forum
1

<p>If I were one of the students or parents, I’d be livid!</p>

<p>[Icy</a> testing leaves students, parents steamed Times Record News](<a href=“http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2011/oct/13/icy-testing-leaves-students-parents-steamed/]Icy”>http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2011/oct/13/icy-testing-leaves-students-parents-steamed/)</p>

2

<p>That’s awful for those kids. It’s not clear to me why they couldn’t take the PSAT at their schools. It sounds like there were 608 test takers between the two schools. There’s no auditorium, gym, or other space at these schools that could hold 300 students each?</p>

3

<p>If I felt my kid had a genuine chance of getting NMF or even NMFS, I would be seeing a lawyer right now.</p>

4

<p>This was crazy. The students and parents have every right to be upset -

I guess College Board doesn’t back up their own rules when it’s not convenient and are willing to leave the decision up to inexperienced and clearly incompetent local ‘testing officials’, i.e just the staff of the local school.</p>

5

<p>I took my GRE in a building in which the heat wasn’t working and it was the middle of the winter. We were compensated with an increase in our scores due to the problem. I don’t remember how much they added. </p>

<p>It was so cold I could barely hold the pencil in my hand.</p>

6

<p>That’s ridiculous. For those not from Texas, know that Wichita Falls is not a tiny town. Population is greater than 100,000. I can’t believe there was no appropriate venue to be found.</p>

7

<p>Why not test at the school in classrooms? That’s how we do all standardized tests here.</p>

8

<p>Perhaps, the College Board likes the new acronym for the Polar SAT.</p>

9

<p>It’s infuriating the way Principal Shipley says, “I don’t know that it will negatively affect anyone’s score.”</p>

10

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<p>The administration of the PSAT is (and has always been, AFAIK) specifically left up to the high school staff. Given that there are roughly 15,000 high schools currently in the US (many more than the number of SAT test centers), how in practice should the College Board determine who is clearly competent and who is not?</p>

<p>The PSAT supervisor’s manual says: “Several days before the test, make sure rooms are properly heated or cooled, all lights and clocks are working, and the general conditions are satisfactory.” Are you saying that the CB should email a survey asking: 1) Are you competent? Y/N and 2) Are you planning to use an ice skating rink as a test center? Y/N</p>

<p>Personally, I’d like to see NMSQT dropped and the PSAT revert to its pre-1971 status as nothing but a practice test.</p>

11

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<p>A truthful answer to that question might send shudders to Gaston.</p>

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<p>I coud not agree more, but then I am also a person who would love to see the SAT be given the administration of the current AP. The PSAT should be given to 9th graders and the SAT to 10th and 11th graders. Two chances and that is it. </p>

<p>The AP should be offered in a GRE CAT format and be drastically reduced in scope and impact.</p>

12

<p>

Fignewton:</p>

<p>I’m saying that once CB became aware that this test was given in a venue clearly contrary to their rules and that it had apparently such a negative impact on that testing session they should ‘make it right’ by allowing it to be retaken in a makeup session. I assume (but don’t know if) they have makeup sessions from time to time since there must be other unpredictable events that happen like power outages, fires, etc.</p>

13

<p>^^nope, no make-ups for the psat. It is offered once a year and once only. If a student has a medical emergency and misses the test date, for example, they can still participate n the NMSF competition by taking the SAT. It also requires the completion of some paperwork.</p>

<p>It is my understanding that the reason for the no make-up policy is that the powers-that-be only generate two test versions per year – one for in-class (M-F) and one for Saturday administrations.</p>

14

<p>There probably simply isn’t any other test…I highly doubt CB has a pile of PSAT backups. That’s why the work so hard to keep the originals secret. This is definitely not CB’s fault, rather the incompetent school workers’, who should be fired without severance.</p>

15

<p>[PSAT/NMSQT:</a> If You Missed the Test](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Taking the PSAT/NMSQT – SAT Suite | College Board)</p>

<p>If you missed taking the PSAT/NMSQT in your junior year, you may still be able to enter programs conducted by National Merit Scholarship Corporation if you meet other requirements to enter the NMSC competitions (published in the Official Guide to the PSAT/NMSQT and on NMSC’s website ). To request information about alternate testing after the October PSAT/NMSQT administration, write to NMSC as soon as possible but no later than March 1 following the PSAT/NMSQT administration that was missed. Your letter must be postmarked on or before March 1 for your request to be considered.</p>

<p>From the brochure at <a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/student_guide.pdf[/url]”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/student_guide.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Unable to Take the PSAT/NMSQT?</p>

<p>If you do not take the 2011 PSAT/NMSQT because
of illness, an emergency, or other extenuating circumstance,
you may still be able to enter NMSC’s
2013 competitions. To request information about
another route of entry after the October 2011 PSAT/
NMSQT administration, WRITE to NMSC as soon
as possible but no later than March 1, 2012. Do not
delay; the earlier you write, the more options you
will have for scheduling test dates.
Mail your request to:
National Merit Scholarship Corporation
Attn: Educational Services
1560 Sherman Avenue, Suite 200
Evanston, IL 60201-4897
Your letter must be postmarked on or before March 1,
2012 for your request to be considered.</p>

16

<p>Hardly an ideal test environment. I can guarantee someone will get sued for that one … America, land of the lawsuit!</p>

17

<p>It is hard to believe that no one will catch cold from those conditions, especially considering the extreme heat they have had this year. Good grief.</p>

<p>I will never forget taking my college placement tests during the energy crisis in the seventies. I wore my parka the whole time and still froze. But we were not damp!</p>

18

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<p>What they mean by that is options to take the SAT in place of the psat, not that other psat’s will be scheduled.</p>