HISD 9-11th graders took the PSAT during the school day on Oct. 15 at their campus as part of the district’s PSAT Test Administration Day.

The PSAT, a preliminary SAT and College Board exam that measures college readiness among students, is offered to HISD students free of charge on PSAT Test Administration Day at HISD. Students are scheduled to take the exam in the morning and could spend up to three hours completing the test that includes sections on math, critical reading, and writing.

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“There are a lot of opportunities for students to prepare for the PSAT in HISD,” said Jharrett Bryant with the HISD College Readiness Department. “The PrepMe platform is an online course that’s given to all students in the district. It’s actually an adaptive course, where based on a diagnostic you take at the beginning of the class, it customizes a study plan for you.”

The PSAT PrepMe course is offered online through Naviance, an online tool available to every 6-12th grade student to design high school plans, review academic progress, and explore colleges.

Another resource the district offers to prepare students for the PSAT is the official SAT online course, which is provided to all HISD juniors. During the summer, HISD also organized a PSAT test preparation camp with Testmasters to provide 200-plus students who scored well on the PSAT in 10th grade a chance to improve their score to qualify for the prestigious National Merit scholarship.

Students who score in the 99 percentile range on the PSAT may qualify for a National Merit Scholarship, ranging from $2,500 to $10,000. Many colleges, including the University of Houston, offer full-tuition scholarships to National Merit Scholars.

In addition to the PSAT Test Administration Day, the College Readiness team organized a College Application Day that same day to encourage 12th graders across the district to begin working on their college applications.