JUNIORS AND SOPHOMORES
On Wednesday, October 14, the PSAT will be offered to 10th and 11th grade students at PCHS. This test requires about 3 hours (testing and data fill-out).
PSAT/NMSQT
These letters stand for the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The PSAT is the first step to enter scholarship competitions conducted by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. More than one million high school students who take the PSAT/NMSQT will enter the Merit Program. Approximately 8,000 will win Merit Scholarship awards. To be eligible, students must be enrolled full time as a high school student, be a citizen of the United States or a permanent U.S. resident, and take the PSAT as a junior. If you take the PSAT as a sophomore, your score does not count toward scholarship competitions but it is a good pretest for taking the PSAT and the ACT/SAT as a junior. The students who will benefit from taking the PSAT are:
- Those with a GPA of 3.5 or better – to be considered for scholarships.
- Those who are considering going to college outside of Michigan.
- All juniors will be taking the SAT in the Spring of 2016 which is given for free through the State of Michigan. The PSAT is a good preparation for the SAT.
- Taking the PSAT prior to taking the ACT provides a good pretest to a college admissions test.
When you sign up for the PSAT you will receive a booklet that has more information and a sample test. The cost for the PSAT is $17.00 – sign up and pay in the office by Thursday, September 24. The test will be administered at PCHS on Wednesday, October 14 at 8:30 a.m.
M-STEP
The Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) is the state assessment administered to all students enrolled in Grade 11 each year. The M-STEP consists of three major components: The SAT college entrance examination, the WorkKeys job skills assessments, and Michigan assessments.
The M-STEP is scheduled for:
Tuesday, April 12, 2016 – SAT
Wednesday, April 13, 2016 – WorkKeys
TBD – Michigan Assessments
No 11th grader may take a prearranged absence during these days!!!! A $50 fee will be assessed if make up testing needs to be done.
ACT/SAT ASSESSMENT:
Juniors considering college after high school should take either the ACT or SAT. Both tests are accepted as college admissions test, however, the ACT is less expensive and more widely used in Michigan. If you are considering a college outside of Michigan, you may want to take the SAT or both the ACT and SAT. (ACT = American College Testing, SAT = Scholarship Admission Test)
ACT
The ACT will not be part of the M-STEP testing this year. The State of Michigan has changed to giving the SAT college admissions test. Due to this change and the new scoring change of the SAT, juniors are encouraged to take the ACT sometime this year until all colleges have a plan in place with the new SAT scoring. Many students take the ACT more than once to achieve a higher score for college entrance or for scholarship guidelines. Test fees are as follows: ACT with Writing – $56.50, ACT no Writing – $39.50. The following ACT National Test dates for this school year are:
September 12, 2015 – Registration deadline of August 7
October 24, 2015 – Registration deadline of September 18
December 12, 2015 – Registration deadline of November 6
February 6, 2016 – Registration deadline of January 8
April 9, 2016 – Registration deadline of March 4
June 11, 2016 – Registration deadline of May 6
ACT PREPARATION
Each year students ask how to prepare for the ACT Assessment. Without a doubt, the best preparation is to take as many courses as possible in the Math, Science, English and Social Studies areas. In addition, there are the following options for students:
1. Work through the ACT preparation booklet that is distributed to each student prior to taking the M-STEP. This booklet has a complete test included that you can time yourself and work through the test to see which areas you need to pace yourself to complete the section on time. It also has the answers and explanations. One of the preparations for the ACT is to know what to expect and how to answer the questions. This booklet is free, often not used, but one of the best preparations.
2. Sample test questions are also available on the ACT website. Go to the www.actstudent.org, click on “Test Prep” which is along the top row of options. Next click on “Practice Test Questions” along the left hand side of the screen. Under each subject area there are at least four different groups of questions that can be answered for each area. These are not full practice tests so they cannot be timed but still might be helpful.
2. ACT Online Prep and The Real ACT Prep Guide are available for purchase on the ACT website. These can be ordered at ACT’s website www.actstudent.org.
3. ACT workshops are also available. The workshops familiarize students with the test, teach basic test-taking strategies and increase confidence levels.
ACT ASSESSMENT Plus WRITING
The ACT also offers an optional writing test. The writing test is scored separately and the results do not affect the student’s ACT composite score. Visit the ACT website at www.actstudent.org to find out which colleges and universities require or recommend taking the writing test. You can also contact the college of your choice to find out what their recommendation is.
SAT ASSESSMENT TEST
The SAT will be given to juniors at the expense of the State of Michigan at PCHS on Tuesday, April 12 as part of the M-STEP. If students wish to take the SAT at their own expense, other test dates are:
January 23, 2016 – Registration deadline of December 28
March 5, 2016 – Registration deadline of February 5
May 7, 2016 – Registration deadline of April 8
June 4, 2016 – Registration deadline of May 5
To be eligible for the National Merit Scholarship Program, be sure to put the code 0085 in 11a of your registration form. Go to sat.collegeboard.org/register.
STATE OF MICHIGAN COMPETITIVE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Students seeking assistance from the State of Michigan Scholarship Program must take the ACT Assessment. Students wishing to be considered for State of Michigan Scholarship assistance should use their correct high school code (231-736) in block L, when completing their ACT Assessment Registration Folder. Release of scores to that scholarship program may also be accomplished by listing code 2076 in block O of the Registration Folder.