A Parent Tutorial for Understanding PSAT 2011 Results

Parents,
PSAT scores for students who took the test October 15, 2011, should be available soon. Here's a brief overview of how to understand your students' report. Feel free to contact me if A+ can be of assistance.

Sheba

PSAT/NMSQT Score Report

Take a look at your student’s PSAT/NMSQT® Score
Report. Notice that each section of the test — critical
reading, mathematics and writing skills — has its own
column. Within each section is a great deal of information
that provides a thorough review of performance.
1 Your Scores:
• Each PSAT/NMSQT score — critical reading, mathematics and
writing skills — is based on a scale of 20 to 80.
• The score ranges show how much scores might vary if students
were to take the PSAT/NMSQT repeatedly without learning
additional skills. In other words, the scores within this range are
considered “equal” statistically.
• Percentiles compare your student’s performance with
that of other students. Eleventh-graders are compared to
all 11th-graders who took the test; 10th-graders and younger
students are compared to all 10th-graders who took the test.

Read more at http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/parent-tutorial-for-understanding-psat-nmsqt-results-english.pdf

The SAT and the IEP: Parents, read this if your child is seeking accomodations for the SAT

The College Board
Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD)

Dear Parent:
If you are reading this letter, you are the parent of a student who is seeking
accommodations, based on disability, on College Board tests (i.e., SAT®; AP®;
PSAT/NMSQT®). There are several important steps in the process of determining the
appropriate accommodations. These important steps are explained in the College Board’s
Instructions for Completing the Student Eligibility Form. You and your son/daughter will
want to read the Instructions carefully. Here are several other important things to know:
• The College Board has specific guidelines for identifying appropriate
accommodations on our tests (see page 1 of the Instructions). Often these
accommodations are the same as those your son/daughter receives at school,
but not always. It is not automatic that school accommodations will be the
same as those approved for College Board tests. The most important advice is
to follow the College Board guidelines.
• When a student’s Eligibility Form is received by the College Board, our
review is very thorough. And, there are times that we ask to review a
student’s disability documentation—this all takes time. Allow sufficient time
(5 weeks from the date the Eligibility Form is complete and 7 weeks when we
ask to review the documentation, and it is complete).
• To assist in planning for the eligibility process, the College Board has posted
important due dates relating to request for accommodations for College Board
test. You can see these dates on page 8 of the Instructions, on the back of the
mailing envelope, and on the College Board’s Web site.
• The College Board has sent copies of the Instructions and Student Eligibility
Form to your son’s/daughter’s school. You also may get a blank form by
contacting us at (609) 771-7137 or ssd@info.collegeboard.org . Because we
scan the information provided on Student Eligibility Forms, we only can
process original forms. There are sections on the Eligibility Form to be
completed by your son’s/daughter’s school.
• Remember that the school officials can be a great help in making certain all
the steps are followed. The College Board’s Web site at
www.collegeboard.com/ssd/ also is a good resource for help in the eligibility
process, and if you have further questions, you may want to call the College
Board’s SSD office at 609 771-7137.
We wish your son/daughter good fortune in preparing for that next big step, attending
college.
The College Board
Service for Students with Disabilities

Originally posted at http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/ssd/Dear_Parent_Letter.pdf

The PSAT can help students earn scholarships.

The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) is a program cosponsored by the College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). It's a standardized test that provides firsthand practice for the SAT^®. It also gives you a chance to enter NMSC scholarship programs and gain access to college and career planning tools.

The PSAT/NMSQT measures:

• Critical reading skills
• Math problem-solving skills
• Writing skills

In order to qualify for the NMSC, students must take the PSAT DURING THEIR JUNIOR YEAR--even if they took the test as sophomores.