On Wednesday, October 11, the Preliminary SAT, PSAT, conjured up feelings of stress and worry in many students.

The PSAT is a standardized test that students in 9th-11th grade take. It is composed of three sections, reading, writing and language, and math. The reading and writing sections are evidence based, and the math section tests algebra, geometry, and trigonometry knowledge.

This test is significant, but not worth losing sleep over. Junior year is when the test is most vital, as one can be eligible for National Merit Scholarship Program.

“The PSAT is important every year. In ninth and tenth grade it is great for practicing, and in eleventh grade you can earn scholarships,” Career Center Assistant Heather Jolly said.

Director of School Counseling Tim Lucas agrees.

“It is a tool to help students prepare for the SAT and more opportunity to to improve their test scores [other than the PSAT],” Mr. Lucas said.

But is it worth freaking out over?

“Absolutely not… it should be a resource on what to improve on, it is the only test where you can see your answers,” Mr. Lucas said.

If a junior does poorly on this year’s PSAT, there is no need to worry. Colleges will not see scores unless a student has qualified for National Merit, National Hispanic, and other scholarship programs. So, only very good scores will be reported.

For many freshmen, this is their first time taking a PSAT-like test. Freshman Lauren Petrak was not worried, as she knew the test did not count.

“It’s just practice, and it helps you get better,” Petrak said.