Opinion: PSAT cancellation causes frustration in students

Opinion: PSAT cancellation causes frustration in students

Christian Rodriguez, Page Editor

On October 14th, HHS students had the opportunity to take the PSAT during the school day. The PSAT is a perfect opportunity for sophomores and juniors to practice questions similar to the SAT. I believe if a student wants to be successful in their actual test their junior year, they need to see the material as many times as possible.This lets sophomores who haven’t seen anything similar to this test to experience it for the very first time. This will allow students to not be ignorant on the format or type of material that is on the actual SAT exam.

   The PSAT allows the students to see where they are academically and what they need to work on. I think this gives students the opportunity to have experience in taking these similar questions. I think this also points students in the correct direction on what they will see on the SAT and will allow them to carry themselves with more confidence going into the test. The PSAT puts students in a high pressure timed situation that they haven’t seen before. This gives students a taste of how they need to pace themselves throughout the test. This method is a better option for sophomores who are taking it for the first time to get a baseline score. The math and reading scores from the students results will ultimately achieve this idea.

    HHS was issued the wrong PSAT booklets for the first time taking the test, which was realized halfway through the first section of the test. As this news was released to the student body, and we had to stop the test, many felt great frustration and spoke in a negative manner towards the situation. I believe better communication could have flowed between the school and the College board. Despite the complications, I feel that the first portion of the PSAT gave students a chance to learn about the test and gain confidence for the SAT.