COLUMN: PSAT well-administered for juniors at MHS

On Jan. 26, MHS administered the PSAT for any juniors who wanted to take it before taking the SAT in the spring. The test was given at the high school with many precautions in place to make it as safe as possible during this time. As a student who took the PSAT during the pandemic, this is what my experience was like.

I arrived at about 7:15 a.m. and as soon as I got there, I had to pass through a temperature check to make sure no students were running a fever or had any symptoms and that all students were wearing a mask before entering the building. Upon entering, students were first sent to the upper gym to figure out if they were in the upper or lower gym for testing.

Once that was settled, I was directed to which table I’d work at, with each table being significantly socially distanced from the others. I put my phone in the provided envelope which was placed in the main office while testing before the supplies were handed out; we needed a graphing calculator and number two pencils.

During the test, masks were worn the whole time unless eating or drinking. All four of the normal sections of the PSAT were given with the break times at which we could get up and move around.

Once the test was over, phones were given back and people were dismissed as most people drove to the school themselves.

Overall, the experience was very good. I was able to go in and do what I needed to do while feeling completely safe following the COVID-19 guidelines. It was very well administered and did not feel too much different from what the test usually felt like. It was nice to feel some sense of normalcy while still being safe.