During the third week of October, the PSAT/NMSQT was administered to freshmen, sophomores, and juniors at GHS. College board says the total testing time for this is 2 hours and 45 minutes. These exams help prepare underclassmen for the SAT. According to College Board, more than 1.9 million students took the SAT last year at least once. This stressful, intimidating exam has college bound juniors everywhere under massive amounts of pressure. It used to be the test that determines what kind of college accepts you, but so much has changed. The students and teachers both had lots to say about this menacing, frightening exam.
On October 8th, junior Sam Desrosiers shared what his thoughts on the SAT were and what he’s doing to prepare for this upcoming demanding exam. Sam felt very strongly about how the SAT recently turned digitally. “I hate doing PSAT’s on computers. Doing it on paper is much easier. It helps me focus more and you can cross things out. You can’t do that on the computer,” said Desrosiers. It’s apparent that while taking the SAT digitally is easier to grade, there are portions of people that don’t like doing that. Sam is also taking AP classes and is using a green book his English teacher gave him to help prepare for this agonizing test. Lately, many colleges have been steering away from SAT scores. Many parents have recognized this too. According to Sam, his parents have not talked with him at all about the SAT’s or PSAT’s. The SAT has certainly changed over the years, but what do teachers think of this?
History teacher Mary McAuliffe shared what her thoughts on the digital SAT were too. Like Sam, she also believes the SAT is better taken on paper. “On papers you can cross things out, make notes, and do things you can’t do on a computer,” McAuliffe said. McAuliffe also believes that the way students take SAT’s isn’t the best. Having kids sit in chairs for long hours isn’t the best way. According to McAuliffe, it would be better to break up the SAT into a couple of days instead of all at once. When asked if the SAT’s are important she also said “The SAT’s are one way to assess students and their ability to problem solve but it’s not the best way.” So not everyone, even teachers, agree with college boards ways lately.
Two people were interviewed in total, but a quick survey was given to seven random juniors at GHS. Out of the seven other students asked, not one of them said they prefer digital more. With a new system people don’t like and colleges steering away from SAT scores, it’s clear that many people here at GHS aren’t fans of this college preparation exam.
