Nathan Hale High School

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Nathan Hale High School / Academics / Assessments

Assessments

Assessments at Nathan Hale

  1. AP Exams Pre-Payment Due
  2. PSAT & SAT Information
  3. Smarter Balance ELA, Math & Science
  4. Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (W-CAS)
  5. Assessment Support Resources

AP Exams Pre-Payment Due

Refer to the Principal Letter for complete details

The deadline to register and pay for AP Tests this school year is October 30, 2026 by 5 p.m. District information about AP Exams. Students who plan on taking AP exams in May 2027 and are registered on the College Board website. The link to submit payment for registered tests via Nathan Hale HS SchoolPay.

PSAT & SAT Information

Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
Preliminary SAT (PSAT)

Benefits of the In-School SAT & PSAT
Accommodations Form Due

What are the benefits of taking the SAT in SPS?

From SPS Website:

  • No cost. The school-day test is free for SPS juniors and seniors. 
  • Students may also send up to four score reports for free. The school-day test permits students to send score reports to as many as four colleges or scholarship programs. 
  • Additional pathway to graduation. A qualifying score on the SAT can be used as a graduation pathway for ELA and/or math. Current qualifying scores are410 for ELA and 430 for math.

What are the benefits of taking the PSAT in SPS?

From SPS Website:

  • The (Preliminary SAT) PSAT provides valuable feedback on strengths and the skills necessary for college study . Students can then focus their preparation on areas that could most benefit from additional study or practice. The PSAT measures critical reading skills, math problem-solving skills and writing skills. 
  • Gives insight on how a performance on an admissions test compares to others applying to college .Helps students prepare for the SAT. Students will become familiar with the kinds of questions and the exact directions they will see on the SAT. 
  • Could help juniors qualify for scholarships . The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) for juniors is a program co-sponsored by the College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corp. (NMSC) 

What if I need testing accommodations on either the PSAT or SAT?

  • As a student with a qualifying disability?
    • Parents/guardians must provide consent for the school to release information about the student’s private IEP or 504 accommodation information. 
  • As a student who is new to speaking, reading, and writing in English?
    • Multi-lingual learners are provided time and a half and a word-to-word bilingual dictionary.

The Consent Form for Accommodations Request is on the College Board website. Paper copy of the form is available in the Main Office.

SAT: Seniors: October 8, 2026

SAT and PSAT is coming! Seattle Public Schools provides a day in school and covers the entire registration fee for all Juniors to take the PSAT and all Seniors to take the SAT. Nathan Hale will hold its SAT/PSAT testing administration on Thursday, October 8, 2026. This is an amazing opportunity for all students. The school district will register all students for this free exam.

Note that if your student requires testing accommodations because of a qualifying disability or because they are new to speaking English, for example, please be sure to take action ASAP. The College Board can take up to seven weeks to approve accommodations.

Students will take the test in Mentorship class. Those seniors who don’t have a Mentorship will be assigned to a classroom to take the test. The actual test room may be different from their regular Mentorship classroom since all testing rooms will be on the second floor. All students are encouraged to arrive on time on test day with their fully charged SPS/district laptop pre-loaded with the Bluebook App. See instructions (below) to download the Bluebook App under Assessment Support Resources > Test Day – What do I do?

To prepare for the SAT, students can access practice materials:

Students can link their college board account to Khan Academy and get a personalized practice plan using the results of their PSAT/NMSQT exam if they have taken it. Students need a College Board account to access results online. Exam scores can be used for college admission. You may send 4 reports to colleges of your choosing for free.

The SAT covers reading, writing, and math. The Seattle Public Library offers tutors for SAT practice through Tutor.com. All SPS students have access to this free opportunity. If you don’t have a library card you can use your student ID to get access.

PSAT/NMSQT: Juniors: October 8, 2026

SAT and PSAT is coming! Seattle Public Schools provides a day in school and covers the entire registration fee for all Juniors to take the PSAT and all Seniors to take the SAT. Nathan Hale will hold its SAT/PSAT testing administration on Thursday, October 8, 2026. This is an amazing opportunity for all students. The school district will register all students for these free exams. 

Note that if your student requires testing accommodations because of a qualifying disability or because they are new to speaking English, for example, please be sure to take action ASAP. The College Board can take up to seven weeks to approve accommodations.

Students will take the test with their Mentorship class. Room assignment may be different for Mentorship classes since all testing will happen on the 2nd floor. Students should be in their class with their fully charged district/SPS laptop pre-loaded with the Bluebook App. See instructions below under Assessment Support Resources > Test Day-What do I do?

Resources

Smarter Balance ELA, Math & Science

The 9th grade class will take the Smarter Balance English/Language Arts, Math and Science exams. The date to be determined. These exams are computer adaptive and measure grade level skills from a previous school year. The tests have been redesigned to be shorter than in the past and no longer have a performance task. Freshmen will take the test on their school laptops. Personal devices cannot be used. Headphones will be available to those who need them.

Meeting standard on the SBA tests satisfy the graduation Pathway requirement. Juniors and seniors who have not yet passed or students who would like to improve their score are eligible to take the exam.

How you can better understand your student’s test results

Students who have already demonstrated standard with the SBA-Math or SBA-ELA as 10th graders do not have to re-take the exam. A score of 3 or above may be used for placement purposes for college admission.

Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (W-CAS)

Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (W-CAS) is a testing requirement and is administered to juniors. Content tested include biology, chemistry, physics, and earth science. This is an online test.

Assessment Support Resources

Tutor.com

Virtual Tutoring is available to Seattle Public Schools students. Visit the SPL Virtual Tutoring webpage for more information.

  • Live English and Spanish tutors are available from 2 p.m.-10 p.m. daily.
  • Vietnamese tutors are available from 4 p.m.-7 p.m.

Log in to Tutor.com with a Library card or Library Link Number and PIN. Find out how to use your Seattle Public Schools student ID number.

Tutors can help with any school subject, including:

  • Math
  • Writing
  • Science
  • History
  • AP Classes
  • College Essay Writing
  • Job Applications, Cover Letters and Resumes
Log in to Tutor.com

Test Day – What do I do?

On the day of the test students should arrive at regular start time. There will be signs around the building showing which room students should go to for testing. It’s important that students have had breakfast and a good night’s sleep. A fully charged laptop is required. Students should bring either pencils or pens. It is a good idea to bring water and a snack for during the break.

Students should prepare their laptops for the test by downloading the College Board’s digital Testing App, BlueBook. This is important because it has been taking some students up to 30 minutes to download the App. Please be patient. Reach out to Tia Yarbrough at tnyarbrough@seattleschools.org if you have any questions.

Steps to download are:

First: Restart your student laptop, then sign in using credentials below

User: cbbluebook
PW: college

Next: If the Bluebook App is not on your desktop, double click the Install Bluebook icon and then click Install. This will take a few minutes. Once the Bluebook App appears, double click to open.

Breaks

There is one 10-minute and one five-minute break during the test, the only times you can eat and drink.

Devices

Cell phones and other electronics should be put away. Your scores will be canceled if you don’t follow the rules around these devices. Absolutely no phones allowed during the test for any reason.

As of October 21, 2026