Free SAT -All 11th Grade Students - The School District of Palm Beach County - Wed. April 14, 2010

Online, March 7, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Through a partnership with the College Board, Palm Beach County will be the first school district in the nation to offer the test to a full grade level districtwide on a school day.

Providing the SAT to all 11th grade students is a critical step that the District is taking to promote a climate of college readiness for all students. With the School District covering the test fee, many students who could otherwise not afford the test or others who would not have considered the possibility of college will now have the opportunity to expand their post-secondary education. The College Board has provided every junior with their own Official SAT Study Guide. Additionally, the Curriculum Development and School Improvement Department has posted supporting lesson plan guides and teaching references on the District's Learning Village.

The SAT is a globally recognized college admission test that allows students to access information on colleges, universities and scholarship opportunities. Designed to measure what students have learned in high school, the SAT tests students' reading, writing and mathematics skills - the same skills they are learning in high school and that are essential to college success. It also shows how well students can apply their skills, which is critically important to colleges when evaluating undergraduate candidates. Each year, the SAT is administered to more than two million students in more than 6,000 test centers that are located in more than 170 countries. Scores of at least 420 in Reading and/or 340 in Math may also be used to meet the state graduation testing requirements under certain conditions, which can be further explained by high school counselors.

The SAT is one of the best predictors of college success. Combined with high school grades, the SAT is actually the best predictor of college success, with a high correlation between SAT scores and first-year college GPA. The SAT writing section is the most predictive section of the SAT. (2008, The College Board)

Look for Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on the District web site, YouTube, and other TV stations. The PSAs were created to share information and generate awareness of this paramount event, and also to encourage further educational conversation between parents and students.

Parents and students are encouraged to learn more about the test and the multitude of free practice tools, personalized study plans and the SAT Skill Insight feature by visiting the SAT web page at sat.collegeboard.com (note that www is not included in the address).

For more information, please go to the District's SAT web page at http://www.palmbeachschools.org/safeschools/sat.asp or contact your school's Guidance
Department or Nancy Reese, Department of Safe Schools at [email protected] or 561-982-0900.