SAT/PSAT School Day 2024 FAQs

Families of Current Hale Juniors and Seniors!

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. This will be taking place in the final days of October—sometime during the 28th through the 30th—2024. (Final dates/times TBA soon.) This is an amazing opportunity for all students. More information and preparation will be provided by the school in the next few weeks. In the meantime, please read through the below FAQs. Also, please 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 on the items highlighted in yellow below.

SAT/PSAT School Day 2024 FAQs

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 are 410 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.
  • Parent consent required for us to release the accommodation information to the College Board. See highlights in yellow below.
• 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.
  • Parent consent required. See highlights in yellow below.
• As a student with a temporary disability—e.g., a broken arm?
  • Temporary accommodations can be made
  • Please reach out to your school’s testing coordinator, Ambyr Burrell, if you need to discuss temporary accommodations.
• How do I make sure I receive my testing accommodations?
  • Forms will be distributed this Wednesday, September 18th during mentorship to relevant students.
  • Complete the form if you would like to complete it now or if you have misplaced the copy provided to your student
  • Have your student return the form to the main office ASAP, but no later than September 25th, 2024.
  • Note: If you do not provide consent for the information to be released, then we cannot request the accommodations, which means your student will not have them on testing day. Bottom line: No parent/guardian consent by the 25th of September = no testing accommodations.
• I took the PSAT last year and submitted this consent then. Do I have to do this again as a senior to take the PSAT?
  • No, once your accommodations have been consented to, input by the school coordinator, and approved by the College Board, they will remain in your College Board account until 1 year after your graduation and be applied to all College Board exams—e.g., AP exams, SAT, PSAT.

More information on SAT/PSAT School Day 2024

Nathan Hale High School