Hinsdale District 86 Administers the PSAT/NMSQT to All High School Juniors at No Cost to Students
For the first time, yesterday Hinsdale Township High School District 86 administered the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT) to all juniors at both high schools at no cost to the students' families. District 86 paid for the cost to administer the test out of operating funds in the 2016-17 budget. This marks the first year that all juniors have taken this test.
The PSAT/NMSQT is a test used nationwide to identify National Merit Commended Scholars and Semifinalists. Both Commended Scholars and Semifinalists receive recognition for their achievement. Semifinalists have an opportunity go through a competitive process to earn the designation of Finalist, which enables to students to be eligible for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $33 million.
Offering the PSAT/NMSQT to all District 86 juniors is part of the District's new comprehensive assessment plan that aligns with the State of Illinois' 2016 decision to require all juniors to take a state-funded SAT. Prior to 2015, District 86 used the ACT. Although the state pays for and now mandates that each student take the SAT, it is up to individual school districts to determine which students take the PSAT. District 86 believes it is so important for all students to have the opportunity to take the PSAT, it is not only giving every student the test, it is paying the full cost of that test for every student.
"Our new assessment system provides every student with the opportunity to qualify for National Merit Scholarship status," said District Assessment and Evaluation Director Arwen Pokorny Lyp. "In addition to providing students with an opportunity to earn National Merit status as well as scholarship money for college with the PSAT, this comprehensive approach gives students multiple opportunities to identify areas of strength and challenge well in advance of the culminating test, the SAT. This new approach enables students to work on mastery of skills over time and that knowledge will serve them well in the long term not just for this short window of standardized testing in their high school careers."
As a part of this comprehensive program, District 86 is using the Measure of Academic Progress, or MAP, test scores to monitor student progress in ninth and tenth grades to monitor both individual and holistic areas of strength and challenge for students. Students who desire additional practice can register for the PSAT 10, which takes place on Saturday, March 17. The SAT with Essay will be administered for all grade 11 students during the school day on Wednesday, April 5.