Why are these exams important?
9th Grade
- The PSAT 8/9 provides the first year of data that is comparable across the College Board suite of assessments.
- The PSAT 8/9, PSAT 10, PSAT NMSQT, & SAT are very similar exams in both structure and questioning.
- Using their results from the PSAT 8/9, students can access customized guided practice in areas for growth in preparation for the PSAT 10, utilizing Khan Academy. See Collegeboard.org for more information about how to take advantage of this excellent free resource.
- The PSAT 8/9 gives the students the experience of standardized testing which cannot be duplicated in the normal day to day classroom. You do not want the first experience of this testing environment when you take your college entrance exam as a Junior.
10th Grade
- Sophomores take the PSAT 10, which is normed to other sophomores exclusively.
- The PSAT 10, PSAT NMSQT, & SAT are very similar in both structure and questioning.
- .Using their results from the PSAT 10, students can access customized guided practice in areas for growth in preparation for the PSAT NMSQT or SAT, utilizing Khan Academy. See Collegeboard.org for more information about how to take advantage of this excellent free resource.
- The PSAT 10 gives the students the experience of standardized testing which cannot be duplicated in the normal day to day classroom. You do not want the first experience of this testing environment when you take your college entrance exam as a Junior.
11th Grade
- Juniors who scored competitively on the PSAT 10 are encouraged to take the PSAT NMSQT, which is the qualifying exam for the National Merit Scholarship Program. This exam takes place during the school day in October.
- Juniors will take the SAT school day assessment in April.
- SAT exam scores may be submitted to colleges/universities for admissions and scholarship decisions.
- Many colleges/universities utilize Super Scoring. In Super Scoring, the best Evidenced Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) score and the best Math scores will be used to calculate a composite score, even if the scores are from different assessment dates.
11th Grade (CMAS)
- The CMAS Science exam assess the content students learn throughout the high school science curriculum.
- The CMAS provides students the experience of taking a high stakes computer-based exam which is something we cannot duplicate in the normal day-to-day classroom. Many placement tests for colleges and universities are computer-based, and this experience will help them prepare for future tests.
For all students and parents, we want you to understand that these exams reflect both the student’s individual learning and the learning of the school as a whole. We would love for that to be a true reflection of both. In order to make that happen, we need students to be in attendance and to take these exams seriously. We realize that testing is not the only way for Fossil Ridge to show off what an incredible school we are, but it is another opportunity to do so. We appreciate your support and if you have any questions regarding testing, please contact Mark Barry at mbarry@psdschools.org or 970-488-6387.
College Board Assessment Resources
Juniors: PSAT/NMSQT, SAT
Sophomores: PSAT 10
Freshmen: PSAT 9
Colorado Department of Education (CDE) Links:
General Assessment Information
The Role of State Assessments in Increasing Academic Achievement