Dear Parents/Caregivers,
We are excited to announce that on the morning of Wednesday, October 16, 2024, RCS will be hosting the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT) for all 11th-grade students in school. The PSAT is an important learning-based opportunity for a number of reasons, including:
Measuring student skills compared to all students in the United States (3.5 million students per year take the PSAT)
The chance to receive information from colleges when you check “yes” to the student search service on the test (not required)
Allowing RCS students to be eligible for National Merit Scholarships
Providing foreshadowing for student performance on the SAT exam
Indicating how RCS is doing in the areas of Mathematics, English, and Reading
Providing a low-risk opportunity for RCS students to measure/improve their testing ability
Allowing ample time to study for the SAT, which Juniors will take this Spring
We are excited to allow all of our Juniors to have access to the PSAT. The Critical Thinking required within this test is an important component of the four Cs of 21st Century Learning. This, combined with Creativity, Collaboration, and Communication, will provide our students access to crucial employability skills.
RCS understands the importance of the PSAT and how it relates to your student's confidence and success in preparing for their future. Students have been studying the contents of this test for the past 10 years. However, practice questions and test format may be found at https://www.khanacademy.org/sat and www.psat.org
On Wednesday, October 16, all students will report to school as normal, and testing will begin for Juniors soon after attendance is taken in their 1st-period class. All Juniors are expected to take the PSAT's. It is very important that your child brings a charged Chromebook on that day because we will be utilizing the new digital format. We will send several reminders in the days leading up to the exam. Please have a conversation with your student about capitalizing on the opportunities that this test will make available to them. We look forward to the important information that will be discovered about your student and our program.
Sincerely,
Ryan Funck
Principal