All Maine public school 10th graders could take the test free of charge.
High School sophomores will soon be able to take the Preliminary SATs for free and without giving up a Saturday to do it.
Education Commissioner Susan Gendron announced Thursday that the state will provide the PSAT test to all of the state’s 17,000 public school 10th-graders.
Research by the College Board, the company that oversees and distributes the PSAT and SAT, shows that Maine sophomores who take the PSATs score 100 points higher on the SATs than classmates who didn’t take the preliminary test. It also shows that PSAT students are more likely to think about college at a younger age.
This year, only about 4,000 of the state’s 17,000 sophomores took the PSAT.
Officials hope the test will encourage more students to think about college in a state where only 55 percent of high school graduates go on to higher education.
Under the plan, Maine will pay about $140,000 – or $6 to $8 per test- for 17,000 students to take the PSAT. Students will pay nothing.
Normally, the test costs students about $11.
The test will be given in school on Wednesday, Oct. 13, so students won’t have to worry about transportation or missing work.
Students will not be required to take the test.
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