creekland Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 To anyone with students desiring to take the 2013 PSAT - a standardized test offered at schools once per year in Oct (technically twice as they have a Wed and Sat test date, but you only get to choose one of the two). This test is used for National Merit qualifying for juniors and SAT prep by sophomore and juniors (on here, some freshmen too, but our school only has sophomores and juniors testing). There is no need for seniors to take the test - results don't come back until Dec - too late for any practice. Anyway, our public school has signups going on now - for the test date on Wed Oct 16th. You need to call or show up in person with $15 to sign up...Homeschoolers are welcome and treated well. Other schools may do things differently, but if you haven't found a testing location yet, now is the time to be checking on it. Just a PSA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 The test fee is actually $14.00, but your local school is welcome to add a fee to that. Ours doesn't, but apparently Creek's does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphus Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 It's free for us, maybe because Ds is dual enrolled? Thanks for the reminder- need to call the school! What sort of ID is required- is a passport enough? Does it matter if he looks drastically different since he's gone through puberty (but it's a valid passport)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted September 4, 2013 Author Share Posted September 4, 2013 It's free for us, maybe because Ds is dual enrolled? Thanks for the reminder- need to call the school! What sort of ID is required- is a passport enough? Does it matter if he looks drastically different since he's gone through puberty (but it's a valid passport)? Schools can charge up to $25 for the test... and for those of you who get it for free, I'm envious - though all of mine have aged out of the PSAT now. For ID, definitely check with the school. I'm just a proctor. I've never had to check ID and I don't know what the "rules" are. I also don't know that I'd trust a message board over what my local school wants... Be certain your kids know how to write in cursive. One of the longest things about the start is writing the required statement about not sharing info or cheatin' in cursive... For nervous students, you wouldn't want them to get hung up on that. Some students in my class last year artistically copied the statement I wrote on our blackboard. Not all proctors are willing to do that though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Schools can charge up to $25 for the test... and for those of you who get it for free, I'm envious - though all of mine have aged out of the PSAT now. For ID, definitely check with the school. I'm just a proctor. I've never had to check ID and I don't know what the "rules" are. I also don't know that I'd trust a message board over what my local school wants... Be certain your kids know how to write in cursive. One of the longest things about the start is writing the required statement about not sharing info or cheatin' in cursive... For nervous students, you wouldn't want them to get hung up on that. Some students in my class last year artistically copied the statement I wrote on our blackboard. Not all proctors are willing to do that though. Creekland, thanks so much for the PSA. I really need to be on top of the testing this year. So if I understand this correctly, ds can take the PSAT this year for practice. I believe I will also need this standardized test score if he wants to take a course at our local university next year. Also, I have been meaning to ask about the cursive situation and testing. Years ago I made the decision not to teach cursive even though that is about all I can write in. I figured the boys would have access to so many electronic gadgets it wouldn't be necessary. Now I think I have seriously screwed up. Is it reasonable to try and teach a 15 year-old cursive in a month? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara H Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Also, I have been meaning to ask about the cursive situation and testing. Years ago I made the decision not to teach cursive even though that is about all I can write in. I figured the boys would have access to so many electronic gadgets it wouldn't be necessary. Now I think I have seriously screwed up. Is it reasonable to try and teach a 15 year-old cursive in a month? They don't need to know official cursive. Lots of kids don't really know it. The main thing is that they are just not surprised by the statement and they don't get stressed out about it feeling like they have to write some perfect handwriting version so it drags on a long time. It works just fine to print and put some cursiveish lines connecting words. Assure them it isn't a handwriting test, just a formality for test security. Give them a paragraph of text to practice with and show them they can print with a few connecting lines and call it a day. I wouldn't spend more than 15 minutes on it max and I'd have cookies so nobody gets too stressed out about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphus Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Really, cursive? Since middle school my oldest has been dual enrolled, and the only or one of very few who can read and write in cursive. So that is very surprising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handmaiden Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Thanks, creekland! I just checked my receipts and last year a homeschool umbrella group charged us $45 to take the PSAT! I had no idea what the usual fees were until I read this thread. Needless to say, I am looking elsewhere for this coming year. Will check with the private school that hosted us for the AP exam. They were very accommodating and didn't charge us extra for the exam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ameena Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Schools can charge up to $25 for the test... and for those of you who get it for free, I'm envious - though all of mine have aged out of the PSAT now. For ID, definitely check with the school. I'm just a proctor. I've never had to check ID and I don't know what the "rules" are. I also don't know that I'd trust a message board over what my local school wants... Be certain your kids know how to write in cursive. One of the longest things about the start is writing the required statement about not sharing info or cheatin' in cursive... For nervous students, you wouldn't want them to get hung up on that. Some students in my class last year artistically copied the statement I wrote on our blackboard. Not all proctors are willing to do that though. I'm surprised at the cursive requirement - what happens if a student truely cannot write in cursive? Do they not allow them to take the test? Or would they need an accomodation to be allowed to write the statement in print? We are another no-cursive family - dd doesn't have the dexterity to learn it right now, and I don't have the hand strength or dexterity to teach it to her due to carpal tunnel. We might persue it as an art form in conjunction with caligraphy in high school, but probably not. It's years out for us though - by the time dd gets there it will probably be a moot point. And on a related note - does anyone know anything about PSAT for MIDDLE schoolers? I remember hearing something about schools using it as a qualifier for stuff & for scholarships & programs. I vaguely remember reading about it when I was in high school 10+ years ago, but that's about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 There are some talent search programs that use the SAT as a qualifying test for students younger than high school. Duke Talent Search and Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth are two such programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted September 4, 2013 Author Share Posted September 4, 2013 Also, I have been meaning to ask about the cursive situation and testing. Years ago I made the decision not to teach cursive even though that is about all I can write in. I figured the boys would have access to so many electronic gadgets it wouldn't be necessary. Now I think I have seriously screwed up. Is it reasonable to try and teach a 15 year-old cursive in a month? We are told to tell the kids to do the best they can, but not to stress over it. As Barbara said, it's not a handwriting test - it's a security deal. I agree with her that 15 minutes of practice should do it to get the gist enough for it. If someone were to refuse to do it or would print it refusing to even pretend to make it sort of like cursive, yes, they would be dismissed from the test. It's a requirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara H Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 The cursive statement is required for some other tests too including the SAT and GRE. The GRE is mostly given on computer now, but even the students taking it on computer have to write out the statement in cursive. I'm apparently a total failure at teaching cursive because we worked on it, but little was retained. It caused no problem with the GRE or SAT though - just the printing with a few connected letters and it was just fine. My understanding is this only gets looked at as a means of identification if there is a question of cheating. The GRE, MCAT, test security is pretty intense now - photographing, hand scanner, need to confirm their identity after breaks, no watches, no taking off your jacket or sweater in the test room, security cameras, etc. I don't think any of this is stuff to stress about but good for kids to understand that it is normal for these tests to have a lot of security now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Our local high school doesn't take PSAT registrations until the third or fourth week of September, and then it's only for a couple of days. I had to keep bugging them for registration info when my older daughter needed to take it. They really didn't make it easy. I'm dreading doing it again this year for #2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 I still need to do this. Thank you for the reminder. We don't emphasize cursive here but DD can read it and sign her name. I appreciate the heads up on the security statement. That's just the sort of thing that would throw DD for a loop if she wasn't expecting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Middle schoolers can take the PSAT but I haven't heard of it being used for anything. At the local school, juniors have first dibs, then they let other grades sign up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Thank you! I am blessed to have a very cooperative liaison at the local high school, so I called her yesterday and then brought over a check. She seems to view me as a fellow educator and knows my rights as a homeschooler, which is awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsintheGarden Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 The school where my dc take the PSAT and APs has never required an ID from the homeschooled students. Some schools do, so please check to make sure there are no surprises. My 3rd oldest just got his learner's but the actual photo ID will come in the mail, so give yourself time to get a government ID. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 I called today. Our school starts signups October 1, and they require ID. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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