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UPDATES IN COLLEGE TESTING

12/8/2020: As of today your PSAT scores are available electronically through College Board. If you already have a College Board account simply log on to access your scores. If you do NOT have a College Board account you will need to create one before you can enter and see your scores. Be sure that you are using the same email address you provided on your PSAT answer sheet.

You might be asked to enter an access code. This code was emailed to you at the email address your provided on your PSAT answer sheet. If you do not receive an access code please contact your guidance counselor who can retrieve it for you.

We have provided three video tutorials:

1. The first video shows you how to access your PSAT scores on College Board.

Accessing Your Scores

2. The second video helps you to understand and interpret your scores.

Understanding Your Score Report

3. The third video shows you how to connect your PSAT scores with Khan Academy to create a FREE personalized SAT prep program. On average, students who study for the SAT through the Khan Academy program tend to score 115 points higher than without any studying.

How To Link Your PSAT Scores to Khan Academy

Your PSAT report will also let you know whether your scores qualify you for National Merit Scholarship opportunities. If you are eligible you will be sent follow-up information from College Board. In the meantime we suggest you start considering when you will take the SAT. Typically exams are available in March, May and June and later in August, October and November, all of 2021. We will continue to monitor, and we encourage you to monitor as well, College Board information about SAT test offerings particularly for March, May and June. We will also let you know of any test offerings here at Oliver Ames.

Please contact your school counselor with any questions and if you want to discuss your scores further. All of this information will also be available in the Class of 2022 Guidance Google Classroom as well as on the school website.

Testing plans are discussed in School Counseling Seminars or with School Counselors; a typical testing pattern follows:

Sophomore Year - We are pleased to administer the PSAT to any sophomores who choose to take them on a Saturday in October. All sophomores will take the state mandated MCAS in the spring of tenth grade. Sophomores may consider taking an SAT Subject Test in subject(s) that will not be studied again, such as World History.

Junior Year - The PSAT/NMSQT is administered to OAHS juniors who choose to take them on a Saturday in October. Scores returned in December can provide a study guide to assist students in their preparation for the SAT Reasoning Test in the spring. It is also the qualifying exam for the National Merit Scholarship Program.

The SAT Reasoning and Subject Tests are often taken in March, May or June of the junior year. Many students will take the SAT twice if necessary. Students who plan to apply to college as early action or early decision candidates and their colleges require it, are encouraged to have taken subject tests by the end of the junior year. Advanced Placement Exams are administered in May.

Senior Year - Seniors if necessary take the SAT Reasoning or Subject Tests in August, October or November, for the second time. Advanced Placement tests are administered in May. Students who wish to take the ACT in addition to or in lieu of the SAT Reasoning Tests, generally take it, in either their junior or senior year.

SAT

The Scholastic Aptitude Test is a college entrance exam administered to thousands of students each year. The SAT was developed by the College Board and testing areas include Critical Reading, Mathematics and Writing. We encourage students to take the exam twice - towards the end of junior year or during the fall of senior year. If you are applying ED or EA try not to take it any later than October of your senior year so scores will be available before deadline dates. Students will need to create a free username/password on the College Board website before registering for a test. If you had a user name and password from the PSAT be sure to use it rather than creating a new one. Test dates are imposed by the College Board. Please click the link for further information.

http://sat.collegeboard.org/register/sat-us-dates

ACT

The ACT is another college entrance exam that students may take when looking to apply to college. The ACT covers areas: English, Mathematics, Reading, Science and Writing. If a student is unsure whether they should take the SAT or ACT please have them see their guidance counselor.

http://www.actstudent.org/

PSAT

The PSAT is a practice version of the SAT and is offered to sophomores and juniors and is offered at their local high school Students who wish to take the PSAT register through the Town of Easton website, NOT College Board. On the homepage, click on the 'Pay Your Bills Online' side tab. Next, select 'Easton Public Schools,' and finally, 'PSAT.' This will register your student for the PSAT. Students must report to the high school by 7:30am. The cost is $28.00.

How to Register for the PSAT

To Pay for the PSAT

Go to the Town of Easton website (www.easton.k12.ma.us)

Select Pay My Bills (on the left side of the webpage)

Click on the first line item, Easton Public Schools

Select 2019 PSAT

Fill in all required information, add the exam to your cart and proceed to the check out

Payment for the PSAT needs to take place between Wednesday, September 11, 2019 and Wednesday, September 25, 2019

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact the Guidance Office at 508-230-3210 Ext. 1420

AP EXAMS

RESOURCES

1. You will still have access to your AP Classroom where previously locked open response questions will now be made available.

2. Starting Wednesday, March 25th, College Board will also be offering Free AP Review Classes. Even if you miss the live lesson, they are available on demand.

3. Khan Academy provides free resources for many AP exams as well.

TESTING INTEGRITY

1. The exam questions are designed and administered in ways that prevent cheating; College Board uses a range of digital security tools and techniques, including plagiarism detection software, to protect the integrity of the exams.

2. Scoring at-home work for an AP Exam is not new to the AP Program. For years the AP Program has received and scored at-home student work as part of the exams for the AP Computer Science Principles and AP Capstone courses.

PAYMENT

The cost is $94 per exam. Payment can be made through the Town of Easton Website. We have not set a deadline yet. If you are a student on free/reduced lunch, we will be in touch about scheduling payment.

ACCOMMODATIONS

If you are a student who was previously approved for testing accommodations by College Board we have been told that you will still receive your accommodations. Details are forthcoming.

SUMMARY

1. Colleges support this solution and are committed to ensuring that AP students receive the credit they have worked this year to earn. For decades, colleges have accepted a shortened AP Exam for college credit when groups of students have experienced emergencies.

2. If you are a student who needs mobile tools or connectivity please let us know and we will try to arrange support.

3. An overall summary of this information can be found on the College Board website.

TOEFL

Bilingual students whose first language was not English and whose command of Engish is not as strong as it might be often take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) The TOEFL is taken in addition to SATs. Speak to your counselor and/or head of the ELL program regarding the applicability of the TOEFL to your situation and to learn registration details. You must do this well in advance of the testing date. To register, please go online to www.toefl.org. The TOEFL is taken at a designated center on a computer.

TEST PREP INFORMATION
The following information is available for SAT and ACT prep. Please check back periodically for updates:

Khan Academy on-line videos and tutorials for SAT:
Collegeboard and Khan Academy have paired up to provide free SAT tutoring. If you have taken the PSAT you will receive a code in score report which will create a customized tutorial based on your responses.
www.khanacademy.org/sat
FREE

ACT on-line course:
www.actstudent.org
Cost is $24.95

Bridgewater State University has a SAT Test Prep class.

Here is the page for the most recent information on Bridgewater Continuing Education.

STANDARDIZED TESTING ACCOMMODATIONS

Your may be eligible to apply for accommodations on standardized testing through College Board (PSATs, SATs, SAT Subject Tests and/or AP) or the ACT if you currently received accommodations through an IEP or 504 Plan in school. Consent forms for College Board and the ACT may be found on the OA School Counseling website under Forms as well as below.

If you would like to be considered for accommodations on the PSATs, SATs, SAT Subject Tests and/or AP exams, please complete, sign and return the College Board form to your School Counselor, a minimum of 4 weeks prior to your test date. Indicating your earliest test date on the form (e.g. May, 2018) will help streamline the application process.

Your may not need to take any of these exams. However, it is best to apply. The initial approval process can take up to seven weeks from the date of the application’s submission. Please note it takes up to two weeks for our office to complete the application. Submitting an application does not guarantee that the College Board will approve a student for accommodations.

Not all students with an IEP, 504 Plan or other plan, or professional evaluation are eligible for testing accommodations through the College Board. To be eligible the student must:

have a disability that necessitates testing accommodations;
have documentation on file in school that supports the need for requested accommodations and meets the “Guidelines for Documentation”;
and regularly receive the requested accommodations, due to the disability, for school-based tests.

In summary, to be eligible for testing accommodations your must have the above documentation and actually be receiving the accommodations in school on a regular basis. For complete and up-to-date information on Student Services from the College Board, please visit
http://www.collegeboard.com/ssd.

After the College Board reviews your request for accommodations, you will receive a notification from College Board (otherwise known as an “eligibility letter”) stating the results of the College Board’s review. If your request for accommodations is approved, please keep this eligibility letter in a safe place. It is essential to include a copy of this letter or your SSD number (found on the letter) with EACH subsequent SAT registration in the future. Please note that once you are approved for accommodations through College Board, there is no need to re-apply.

Please remember that it is your responsibility to register for each test within the prescribed deadlines regardless of the status of the accommodations application.

If you wish to request accommodations for the ACT, the parent consent form may be found at
http://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/TAA-Consent-to-Release-Information-to-ACT.pdf.

A detailed description of eligibility criteria, including guidelines for documentation, is on the ACT website. Please read through the eligibility requirements, guidelines for documentation, and instructions.

A key difference in requesting accommodations on the ACT is that the student must be registered for a specific exam date before a request for accommodations can be submitted. It is your responsibility to meet the imposed deadlines.