<p>The insurance company offers the good student discount to students who score within the top 20% on the PSAT/SAT/ACT/ITBS, etc.</p>
<p>The only test my younger D has taken within the past 12 months is the PSAT. Even though her Talent Search ACT score would easily qualify her for the discount, she took it 4 years ago. It doesn't fall within the 12 month time frame requirement. My D needs her PSAT score report for the insurance company and summer program application deadlines. She has no way of getting it until the school decides to distribute them. She's asked several times; the school won't give her a release date. The CB won't help - they just keep referring her back to the school.</p>
<p>JiffsMom, I assume you've shown up at the school in person to request the scores? Please be the squeaky wheel if you haven't already.</p>
<p>I was just at school earlier this morning asking for the PSAT Score Report. The PSAT coordinator checked on it, and came back and told me that she was unaware that the scores had arrived until just then. (I just finished a phone call to the CB confirming that our school received the PSAT score reports over a month ago according to their carrier's tracking records. I was disconnected, however, when I asked to speak to someone at the CB who could help us get access to my D's score report because the school refused to do so.)</p>
<p>The school's coordinator would not give me my D's score report. She said they had no plans to distribute the scores, and that maybe I should check back next month.</p>
<p>The principal is no help. He said the coordinator handles it. He's clearly passing the buck.</p>
<p>The ineptitude and disregard for students is staggering. Graduation cannot come soon enough!</p>
<p>Can anyone out there help us??? Please???</p>
<p>Contact your school superintendant, email the entire school board, copying the principal, counselor, etc. Do this repeatedly. Make an appointment with the principal and ask for the reports again. If you are enough of a pain, they will give in.</p>
<p>Jiffsmom, just read your posts & I wanted to add that or h.s. guidance counselors had to submit PSAT scores with the NJ Governors school nominees' applications. Our school didn't hold them up at all, so it wasn't an issue for us. That nomination deadline was at least a month ago, & many similar programs have deadlines prior to the Christmas break. I'd really insist on getting the score by going to the Super of the BOE & letting all the board members know that this silly delay hurts the students on several fronts --$$$, opportunities, ability to get a move on improving scores....</p>
<p>This a very demographically diverse school. There were 4 NMSF and 9 NM Commended students out of 650 in the class of 2008, so there's not very much attention paid to high achievers, thus the very lax attitude when it comes to the PSAT (only a fraction of students participate). They're mostly worried about the much larger population of struggling students and/or students with significant problems in their lives.</p>
<p>But, still, there's no excuse for what we're dealing with, again! They told me when this happened last year that they would look into changing how they handle PSAT score report distribution. Other things needed attention, ...and now they don't remember that last year's PSAT score delay was a problem.</p>
<p>If I make a huge stink out of this with the BoE and Supt., will this come back to bite my D in the butt when it comes to recommendation and transcript requests next fall in the college application process?</p>
<p>This is why we waited until the school distributed the PSAT results last year, even though it was past a lot of the summer program and $$$ deadlines, with my older D.</p>
<p>We have to walk a very fine line, here.</p>
<p>I understand what you are saying about not wanting to anger the GCs, so I wouldn't do a huge e-mail campaign to trustees, etc. However, it is clear these people are clueless/uncaring and so you do need to find one advocate who might be in a position to make a difference. Our school district has an ombudsman who acts as a parent advocate. I was part of a group who used her last year on an issue and had great success. Do you have one of those? Is there an office that oversees GT issues? Perhaps someone there can be of help. Is there a specific trustee who represents your geopgraphical area? That's an option. I don't have a problem with going over someone's head if I've had no success working through the appropriate channels. Just stick to the relevant facts, keep hyperbole to a minimum and I 'm sure you can find someone who will help you with this reasonable request.</p>
<p>FYI, our district's policy is to not release PSAT scores until after the winter break, so you are not alone.</p>
<p>JiffsMom:</p>
<p>Either your psat coorinator is as incompetent as they come or is just not telling you the truth. CB sends out psat scores to all school GCs-psat coordinators the first week of December by overnight carrier (Fedex, DHL).</p>
<p>JiffsMom, do you know that parents of any other high achieving kids who might also need their scores? You might want to encourage them to contact the school, too, so they don't think it's just you.</p>
<p>Jiff, if your tone is appropriate, I think it will be fine. Write about how obviously the GC is unaware of the consequences, so you KNOW that everyone in the administration will OF COURSE do what is right & will benefit the kids now that the consequences have been explained. Positive, positive, positive. Have someone read it over to make sure you are not going to anger anyone with the letter.</p>
<p>Start the letter by getting right to the point. "Our districts's PSAT late distribution policy is costing my family a great deal of money. I'm absolutely sure the policy would not be implemented to penalize any family or student, so I am writing to make you aware of the problems the policy has caused, and I am confident the policy will be changed."</p>
<p>The College Board's "2007-2008 Official Educator Guide to the PSAT/NMSQT" clearly states in their "monthly checklist" (page 4) and in their "Returning Score Reports and Test Books to Students" (page 15) section that PSAT score reports are to be returned to students in December (this is even highlighted on page 15).</p>
<p>Why do schools think they can return them whenever they feel like it... in February, May (saw this in another thread), the following September (saw this in another thread, too), and who knows when?</p>
<p>Worse, why does the CB pit students against their schools and guidance departments in cases like this, because they won't let students access their score reports online without the access code on the report that the school is withholding?</p>
<p>At our school, the guidance department handles the PSAT testing. This is the same department that my D's have to rely on for transcripts, good GC recommendations, and college application documentation packets to be handled in a timely and appropriate manner. My D's simply can't risk aggravating them by exposing their uncaring attitude/incompetence.</p>
<p>The College Board needs a much better plan than to rely on schools to act in an informed manner in their students' best interests! Too many times, that's not the case.</p>
<p>Compulsory school attendance statutes combined with oligopoly local school districts have this problem: the schools don't have to care. They don't even have to be CLOSE to getting procedures right, because they get paid whether they do things right or not. </p>
<p>Proactive parent communication with the school seems to be necessary at several of the school districts mentioned in this thread. Good luck.</p>
<p>tokenadult: "Compulsory school attendance statutes combined with oligopoly local school districts have this problem: the schools don't have to care. They don't even have to be CLOSE to getting procedures right, because they get paid whether they do things right or not."</p>
<p>That's a very accurate assessment!</p>
<p>I'll keep on this... talk to the same people who tried to help us last year, etc. But, the bottom line is that even with the intervention of a favorite, highly regarded and well-liked teacher, my older D had to wait until the end of February to get her PSAT Score Report from the school last year.</p>
<p>It would be better if the College Board would let all students access their PSAT Score Reports, etc., online - NOW!!! ...without the access code that some schools refuse to provide.</p>
<p>Fortunately, I did not have to deal with Guidance Counselors or even my high school to recieve my psat scores when I took it last year. My psat scores came straight to my own mailbox and I recieved them before Christmas. Why? I am home-schooled and therefore I put a home-school code on the test rather than a high school code. Perhaps others who are frustrated with dealing with their high schools could use a home-school code?</p>
<p>^^i dont think they can because all national merit scholarships are done through your high school. Putting a fake high school may disqualify you.</p>
<p>-nonetheless, even if they're withholding them you should be able to ask and receive them. At my school they just announced the week after they got them (early december), that they were in the guidance office if you took it and to come get it yourself.</p>
<p>"-nonetheless, even if they're withholding them you should be able to ask and receive them."</p>
<p>You would think so, wouldnt you? But no, the school won't give out individual student's scores (or score reports). We have to wait until they're ready to give them to everyone.</p>
<p>They have no plans to do so at this time.</p>