<p>Yes, the diagnostic period helps both the kids and the teachers!</p>
<p>My S17 is taking the PSAT, too, even though the test is changing for their junior yearā¦the year that counts. I think that the more practice the better for high stakes testingā¦it builds confidence and helps them with proper pacing. It is nice to get a sophomore year result so that, he will know what areas to review. I just hope that the new PSAT isnāt too different. Does anyone know exactly what will be changing?</p>
<p>From what I understand, the College Board is making the test more āACTā-like. For the SAT there will be no more writing, the vocabulary will be modernized (no more words like abhor, anachronism, and the like I think), more science and perhaps more applied type math. They will no longer dock 1/4 point for an incorrect answer, and the scoring will be going back to 1600. I donāt know how that will affect the PSAT since it doesnāt have the all the same components as the SAT anyway. I also heard that the Khan Academy will work with the College Board to develop training modules. The change is one reason I am having S take the old SAT, because there are study guides available for it! Hereās a link to some infomation: <a href=āFlorida PSAT & SAT Prep Courses & Tutoring | Score At The Topā>http://www.scoreatthetop.com/blog-1/the-redesigned-psat-nmsqt</a></p>
<p>MY S is also taking the old SAT twice before it changes. My other two kids had good results with the SAT with a little bit of prep. Hoping the same for S17! Thanks for the clarification of the new SAT.</p>
<p>I heard there will be a writing section on the new SAT, but it will be optional like the writing section of the ACT. And, it will be a response to some sort of historical document that they provide. That doesnāt affect the PSAT, though. So, the colleges that want an ACT with writing will likely also want SAT with writing.</p>
<p>My S17 is taking the PSAT on the Thursday date this year. The school had been saying they were giving the ACT Plan on that date to 10th graders, but they realized that the ACT Plan no longer exists, and they canāt have the 10th graders take the ACT Aspire until spring.</p>
<p>The first week of school is over (we start kind of late). D has two of the same teachers as last year but in sophomore level classes, and two new ones. They have only 4 regular classes a day, in long blocks. She has Japanese, Algebra 2, Chemistry and Humanities, which is both Social Studies and LA. They also added an optional engineering class for select students, which started today. It will be after school on three days a week, Of course D signed up. She signs up for everything. So far she is happy with her classes and teachers. Itās a great school and we have no complaints.</p>
<p>She went to Ghana for 9 days during the summer with Free the Children and will be doing follow up work all year, including running a project at her school. She also decided to start a black student union and got the go ahead today.Oh, and sheās on the speech team, which starts next week. </p>
<p>Her district gives all freshmen the PSAT and again in junior year. D did quite well but I want her to try an ACT practice test and compare them. I have always heard that the ACT is much more straightforward. Khan Academy IS partnering with the SAT, but itās a great resource, test or not. Iām glad theyāre revamping the SAT-Iāve always disliked that itās sometimes a matter of knowing the tricks to get certain questions correct. </p>
<p>My 2017 daughter has decided she really wants to graduate early. She would then take a gap year and volunteer before heading to college.</p>
<p>We havenāt given her an answer but told her to talk to her counselor and come up with a plan. Weāll talk more about it when she has concrete steps laid out.</p>
<p>My D17ās school is having them take a Kaplan practice PSAT this year, to help them practice for next yearās new PSAT. </p>
<p>Quotia, my D wants to do something similar. A student a couple of years ago did early entrance to college and combined it with her senior year of HS as a dual enrollment. So, not early graduation, and no gap year but still leaving early. She is looking at HBCUās which are familiar with this and have a specific process for such enrollment. Some of these kiddos just have a lazer focus, huh?</p>
<p>Bard at Simons Rock does the same type of program where the kid can finish up high school and get some college done at the same time. One of Dās classmates did that a couple of years ago.</p>
<p>Quotia, Iām interested to hear what your daughter finds out. DS17 will be taking about 1/3 to 1/2 of his classes junior and senior years at the local CC campus as dual-enrollment. His engineering program is a 4-year thing, so thereās an incentive to not graduate early. (Itās actually kind of common here for kids to take at least one dual-enrollment class per semester at the CC campus and one or more dual-enrollment AP equivalents on the HS campus.)</p>
<p>I think many people who do a gap year do their college applications the year before their gap year and get a deferment from the college they plan to attend after the gap year, right?</p>
<p>I have a D15 and S17. I know that the older kids who want to take a gap year do apply for college, get their acceptance, and then request a gap year. Some colleges actually have sponsored gap years, but since D15 isnāt interested I donāt know which one those might be.</p>
<p>D3 has been in school 6 weeks!! We just had parent teacher conferences last week, and they have 2 week fall break coming up! Our high school has just gone back to 7 periods a day, after 11 years on the block/semester schedule. Everyone hates it, and they are already talking of going back to a modified block next year. My child is exhausted every day, sheās handing the homework and grades are greatā¦ But the days are frantic. One teacher went to flipped classes. She records all her lessons on YouTube the weekend before, then the kids watch the lessons the night before, instead of homework. The next day they do their homework in class and receive 1:1 instruction if they donāt understand or work in small groups. My daughter does not love it, but it is helpful if she misses a class. The older 2 girls have been back at college for almost a month and they are sooooo happy. I canāt believe I have a senior! Light at the end of a tunnel!</p>
<p>DD went with us to her brotherās family weekend at Vanderbilt last weekend. They had a nice information session for the siblings. We also toured the campus with her. I looked over at her during the info session, she listened intensely and seemed so grown up. </p>
<p>Why are your sophomores taking the PSAT? Isnāt the PSAT given in junior year? </p>
<p>Spykid seems to be enjoying school and is in the routine of his classes and homework. So far his math class - honors pre-calc - seems to be the most challenging. His school is on a block system so they avoid the every class every day scenario, thank goodness. </p>
<p>Heās become very social this year and has a good friend group. The big news for Spykid is that he now has a girlfriend. B-) </p>
<p>Our district gives all sophomores the PSAT as practice. They take the one that counts during junior year. I like this because you get a score and see the areas that need improvement before junior year. </p>
<p>Our district does the same, but with freshmen. The district also pays for all juniors to take it junior year. </p>
<p>Sās school lets all the freshmen and sophomore take the PSAT as a guide to see what subjects or areas they need to work on before the test their junior year. Our cohort are at a slight disadvantage because they will be changing the test during their junior year and they get to be the crash test dummies. Hopefully some sort of study guide will be released next spring or summer.</p>
<p>I thought I read somewhere that when you register for the PSAT there is a booklet you get in advance that includes a practice test. (Yes, a practice test for the practice Preliminary SATā¦) I registered S17 via the schoolās webstore and told him to go pick up the practice test booklet sometime. He tried to do that today, and the person didnāt know what he was talking about and said students get the booklet on the day of the test. Is that correct?</p>
<p>Like this: <a href=āThe PSAT/NMSQT ā SAT Suite | College Boardā>https://www.collegeboard.org/pdf/psat/psat-nmsqt-official-student-guide.pdf</a></p>
<p>Maybe they are saving trees.</p>