This past Wednesday, October 14th, the majority of Hingham High School students in the eleventh and tenth grades took the PSAT. This year the test was only offered on Wednesday instead of the usual Saturday. That meant the testing rudely interrupted the regularly scheduled instructional periods during the school day. Hingham High School junior John Joyce said he felt as though the test being on a Wednesday “disrupted” the school week.

Although the exam is proctored by Hingham High faculty, the College Board administers the test and provides the materials. Due to the fact that Hingham High is a public high school, allowing an unaffiliated company to administer an exam during the school day may appear interesting. However, both the College Board and the PSAT have such a large role in the college application process that the Hingham High administration allowed the testing to overrule more than half a day of school.

The College Board changed the day of the PSAT this year as 2015 is the initial year of the redesigned PSAT. On their website the College Board assures students, parents, and administrations that the exam will once again be offered on a Saturday in 2016.

This Wednesday, the PSAT debuted both a new format and new strategy. Students recognized the new format but presented mixed feelings about the level of difficulty. Several students who had previously taken the outdated form of the SAT felt that the new version was either harder or the same level of difficulty as the previous version. After all, a standardized test remains a standardized test no matter the specific content. Students are now left to hope that the updated SAT will live up to the promises of the College Board and will more aptly assess the skill level and intelligence of the student.