Blair to re-administer PSAT

Blair will be re-administering the PSAT because answer sheets from the original administration of the test are still under quarantine. Scores from the re-test will be valid for applications to scholarship programs and colleges.

Juniors and sophomores will take the test on the morning of February 26. Students not taking the test should report to school two and a half hours late. Magnet freshmen are advised to come to school at the regular start time for a planned activity.

Juniors will take a secure version of the test that will be scored and counted as the official test if the answer sheets from the original administration are not recovered by May 15. Sophomores will take an unsecure version of the test to be scored and returned with detailed performance analyses for self-evaluation purposes.

There will be no charge for the re-test, and students wishing to take the test do not need to register. The score report for the new test will provide only a total score, without the traditional breakdown into math, reading and writing sections.

Test room assignments will be posted on Blair Boulevard on the morning of the test. All students should report to 5A class at 10:40, after the test is over.

Due to pressure from the Blair guidance department, the Maryland Distinguished Scholar Program has reversed its position and is now allowing applicants to use scores from the new PSAT as well as junior-year SAT I or ACT scores. The deadline to apply for the program has been extended to February 15.

The National Merit Scholar Corporation and other scholarship programs will also accept scores from the new PSAT if the original sheets are not recovered.

The answer sheets from the October 16 administration of the test are locked in the Hamilton postal facility in Trenton, New Jersey because of fears that the facility may have been tainted by anthrax. Approximately 75,000 sheets from 1200 schools were originally quarantined, but about 67,000 sheets from over 1100 schools have been inspected and released.

The College Board will continue to look for Blair's scores from the October test, and will immediately score the tests if they are recovered. Blair is one of 54 schools nationwide and three schools in Maryland whose scores are still missing.