Dear CMS Parents, This year the Bartow County School District is providing the opportunity for all 8th graders to participate in the PSAT 8/9™ assessment. The purpose of this assessment is to establish a baseline measurement of college and career readiness as your student enters high school. It also provides students a chance to preview the SAT™, PSAT/NMSQT™, and PSAT 10™ format and connect to AP courses. What is the PSAT 8/9™? The PSAT 8/9™ is an assessment given to eighth- and ninth-graders that is closely aligned to the PSAT/NMSQT™ and PSAT™10. It consists of questions in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and in Math. What are the benefits of taking the PSAT 8/9™ assessment? It helps establish a baseline for students as they enter high school and begin preparing for college and career readiness. It also provides students with better access to data and personalized study through the online College Board and Khan Academy® resources. When will my student take the PSAT 8/9™ assessment? It will be administered during class on the following date: Thursday, October 19, 2023 Will my student receive testing accommodations? In regards to students with special accommodations, the results of the PSAT 8/9 are not considered valid with testing accommodation therefore students will take this test WITHOUT accommodations. How should my student prepare? The best preparation is to deeply engage in classroom learning and practice skills over time. On test day, your student should answer all the questions to the best of his or her ability. It will also help if he or she gets plenty of sleep the night before test day. What should my student bring on test day? Your student will need two No. 2 pencils with soft erasers, and an acceptable calculator. How long will the assessment take and how many questions are there? Actual testing time is 2 hours and 25 minutes. There are 42 Reading questions, 40 Writing and Language questions, and 38 Math questions. What should my student do if he or she doesn’t know an answer? Your student may encounter some difficult questions that he or she does not know how to answer. Advise your student that if this happens, not to get discouraged but to answer every question to the best of his or her ability. A message for parents: The PSAT 8/9™ assessment will help your student prepare for the future. By taking the PSAT 8/9™, your student will learn which skills he or she needs to work on for continued success through high school and college. In addition, the PSAT 8/9™ will identify areas where your student excels and may want to consider taking higher-level courses, as well as areas he or she should focus on to improve academically. PSAT 8/9™ scores are one of the criteria used to evaluate potential success in the high school magnet programs. Please note that PSAT 8/9™ scores are not sent to colleges. How does my student receive PSAT 8/9™ scores? Your student will receive a paper score report at school with a unique code giving him or her access to a robust online score report. The scores reported will grow to include every test your student takes that is part of the SAT Suite of Assessments (see collegeboard.org/sat-suite for more information). The online experience is designed to help you and your student understand the scores better and to use the feedback to build new skills based on a detailed breakdown of your student’s performance.

PSAT Information

Cass Middle School

September 28, 2023

The date for the PSAT is approaching soon for CMS 8th graders. Please see the included letter for more information.