On October 14th the PSAT will be administered at North Providence High School for advanced sophomores and juniors.

By paying at the guidance office in the days before the 13th of October, students could reserve their seat and receive a practice booklet to help in studying for the test.

The PSAT is designed to prepare students for the SAT, a standardized test the plays a big role in many college applications across the country. Depending on the score, an SAT score can make or break one’s application to college. There is also a scholarship available only to juniors recognizing their achievement if they receive an exceptionally high score on the PSAT.

This year, the PSAT is redesigned to accommodate for the new SAT rolling out in 2016. Prior to this year, the SAT was scored out of a total of 2400 points and split into three separate sections Math, Reading Comprehension, and Writing. The new SAT will be scored out of 1600 points and separated into two sections, Math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing.The length time-wise of the test will also change as well as how the questions are sectioned. Furthermore, the SAT will now be offered digitally as well rather than just in written, physical form.

To keep up with the changing SAT, PSAT will also change from three sections to the two, Math, and Reading and Writing combined. Also, in the new PSAT incorrect answers will no longer be deducted from scores. Blank answers and incorrect answers will have no impact on scores whereas before, incorrect answers would be deducted from one’s score. Along with many other changes, the new SAT and PSAT are a very different compared to their predecessors.

For more information on the changes in SAT and PSAT testing visit: http://www.kaptest.com/sat/kaplan-sat-prep/sat-test-change

Good luck to all sophomores and juniors taking the test!