Raphael Nigaglioni | Staff Writer

Each year students are given the opportunity to  take the PSAT exam. Anyone in high school can take the exam, but sophomores and higher are usually pushed to take it. This exam is used to give  an idea of what future scores on the SAT would look like, and what material and courses should be taken the following year to be better prepared.

“The PSAT is the preliminary scholastic aptitude test, a preparation for the SAT which you take for college entrance. We’re lucky in North East that for the past 10 or 12 years, North East has paid for all the sophomores and juniors to take the PSAT. They don’t have to spend the $14 on the test, they don’t have to go on a Saturday to take it, they get to take it during school and it’s already paid for, and they get an idea of how they will score on the SAT,” counselor Shar Huffman said.

The PSAT is a useful tool for sophomores by showing them where they need to improve and what courses they should take.

“The PSAT is the only test used to determine which students will be named National Merit Scholarship winners, National Achievement Scholars, and based on their scores on the 11th grade PSAT test, they can earn one of these distinctions. These distinctions gives students great opportunities college-wise,” Huffman said.

Taking the PSAT has numerous advantages.

“For tenth graders the PSAT is seeing what you know, and for eleventh graders it’s showing what you know,” English II Pre-AP teacher Margaret Williams said.