Standardized testing ... something strange happened.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Dd15 is attending high school part-time.  Last fall, she took the PSAT as a sophomore just for practice since she doesn't have much experience with standardized testing.  Her school required all sophomores to take the PSAT10.  She had to option to skip it, but she thought it would be good practice.  Since math is not her favorite subject and she gets anxious and forgets things under time pressure, we decided to take the practice PSAT10 on the College Board website.  It was clearly listed as practice for the one to be given by schools. 

 

She just got home from the test.  The math section was identical to the practice test that she just did yesterday (published on their website with answer key and solutions.)  The other sections were very close if not identical to the PSAT she took in the fall.  She is going to look like a superstar when those scores come out, but they won't be an accurate reflection of her abilities. 

 

What were they thinking?  A bunch of sophomores took the PSAT last fall with dd.  I'm sure she is not the only kid who did the practice test online.  The district definitely did not get their money's worth. 

 

ETA:  I did read that the PSAT 10 is available online to be used as practice for the PSAT.  I don't know how the College Board gets away with marketing this as a testing product to schools. 

Edited April 20, 2016 by dirty ethel rackham

[JoJosMom]

:huh:

 

Wow.  After last fall and the drama surrounding PSAT scores, I didn't really think that my opinion of the College Board could sink any lower.  It appears that they are overachievers, however.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

:huh:

 

Wow.  After last fall and the drama surrounding PSAT scores, I didn't really think that my opinion of the College Board could sink any lower.  It appears that they are overachievers, however.

 

I totally agree.  The name College Board is frequently followed at our house with the phrase, "They had one job" as I recount how they are again failing to do that well.

 

Rush scores haven't been an option this year as far as I can tell.  (At least I'll give them points for honestly saying they couldn't deliver, rather than taking the payment and just not getting them to schools any faster.)

[8filltheheart]

Is it possible that the school is at fault? I was curious about the date for the PSAT 10 and the last date they have listed is April 14. Is it possible that the test was put up on the website after the 14th? https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10/k12-educators/psat-10-dates

 

I have no idea and I have no respect for CB, but I sure would want to know for sure the real scenario if I were you bc if CB did recycle the entire test, that is worse than recycling of tests overseas.

[Reefgazer]

This issue just hit the newspapers today and was a problem in New York State recently. The only news that I read was that they are investigating the problem now; apparently it wasn't supposed to work out that way.

 

Dd15 is attending high school part-time. Last fall, she took the PSAT as a sophomore just for practice since she doesn't have much experience with standardized testing. Her school required all sophomores to take the PSAT10. She had to option to skip it, but she thought it would be good practice. Since math is not her favorite subject and she gets anxious and forgets things under time pressure, we decided to take the practice PSAT10 on the College Board website. It was clearly listed as practice for the one to be given by schools.

 

She just got home from the test. The math section was identical to the practice test that she just did yesterday (published on their website with answer key and solutions.) The other sections were very close if not identical to the PSAT she took in the fall. She is going to look like a superstar when those scores come out, but they won't be an accurate reflection of her abilities.

 

What were they thinking? A bunch of sophomores took the PSAT last fall with dd. I'm sure she is not the only kid who did the practice test online. The district definitely did not get their money's worth.

 

ETA: I did read that the PSAT 10 is available online to be used as practice for the PSAT. I don't know how the College Board gets away with marketing this as a testing product to schools.