Throughout high school, there are standardized tests students must take as a benchmark for the teachers and schools they attend. From elementary to high school, students experience the MAP test, or some other state test, End of Course exams, and the ACT/SAT.

Students often see the ACT/SAT as their ticket to college.

At PHS, students have many opportunities to get prepared for these tests, such as ACT prep classes. As well, students take a different version of a practice ACT every year in Pirate Connections. Freshmen take the EXPLORE, sophomores take the PLAN, and juniors and seniors take a real ACT test. As many options as there are for ACT prep, students may overlook the option for SAT prep that the school also offers.

Each year at Pattonville, the school offers the Preliminary SAT test. The PSAT, which was given on Oct. 16, is an indicator to how well students can score on the SAT. Stacey Leonard, the counselor who handles the PSAT test at Pattonville, said, “The PSAT is a practice SAT test. Many colleges on the coast require the SAT.”

As well, the test is used as a qualification for National Merit Scholarships.

“Students who score pretty highly, not only can they qualify for National Merit, but there are also other scholarships they can get,” Leonard said.

This is a very selective scholarship granted to a very small handful of students. Out of approximately 1.5 million students who take the PSAT, about 8,000 are awarded a scholarship through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The process to select winners takes so long, students can only qualify if they take the PSAT during their junior year in high school. However, aside from this scholarship, there are many others to be awarded for PSAT scores, and some colleges offer financial aid packages that reward performance on the test as well.

The PSAT test is a way for students to prepare for the SAT, and provides pathways to scholarships that students otherwise would not have access to.