Last Wednesday, March 1, Lawrence North juniors took the SAT test. 

Junior Allana Preston says that she felt confident that she would do well on the reading and writing portions of the test, but on the math portion, she wasn’t as confident in herself. 

“I think that the test is important for students who will be going to college, and for those who will have to submit scores, but since my life plan is going on a different route, I really don’t need to take the SAT,” Preston said. 

Although some students may not necessarily need to take the test for life after graduating, it is required by the state that students have experienced a high stakes test like the SAT.

“The plan with the new Pathway to Graduation is that every student is given a wide range of experiences to prepare them for life after high school whether it is college, a career, or the military,” administrative assistant Gayle Cartwright said. 

Cartwright helps administer the PSAT and SAT tests during the school year. She says that even if students do not meet the benchmarks set by the state, the expectation is that they have attempted the test. 

“This is why all juniors take the test in the spring of their junior year. It is also why, since the state is paying for that test, it is the only one that we can use as part of the pathway checklist,” Cartwright said.

Students had varying responses to the day of testing. If Preston could change anything about the SAT process it would be the testing portions. 

“It is way too long, and waking up early to take an over four hour test was a lot,” Preston said. Preparing for the SAT test is very important if students want to get a good score. 

Preston says that Khan Academy has lots of good videos for SAT preparation and practice tests that students can take. 

“Don’t stress about it. It’s not worth it. Yes, study for it and try your best, but it’s a difficult test, but keep your grades and don’t just slack off and you’ll be fine,” Preston said.

Junior Abby Disanto feels pretty confident about her SAT test. 

Disanto says that she enjoyed how quiet her testing room was because it gave her and other students the ability to concentrate better on their tests.

“One thing I would change about the process itself would be the time frames they gave us for each section. Some students need extra time for different sections than other students,” Disanto said.

Like many other standardized tests, the SAT test is a timed test.

Students that haven’t finished their test are graded on what they have completed.

To prepare for her test, Disanto looked over her study guide that her teachers gave her. 

“Some tips for the SAT for the future would be to ask students that have already taken the test and ask them questions about what is on it and how to prepare for it,” Disanto said. 

Junior Jaxon Brown also says that he was confident in the reading and writing portion of the test but he was less confident in the math portion of the test. 

“I don’t know how I feel about it. Most schools are going to test optionally now so I don’t feel like there’s a point besides graduating,” Brown said. 

Brown also used Khan Academy videos and activities to help him prepare for the SAT. 

“Start preparing for it now. Really go back and just practice all of the math you can from 6th grade to now,” Brown said.