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Seniors to take SAT in school

CMSD NEWS BUREAU
10/13/2016
 
CMSD seniors will get another chance to demonstrate their college readiness when they take the national SAT exam at their schools on Wednesday.

Nine schools piloted the assessment last year with juniors, but this will be the first time that CMSD has served as an SAT testing site. Juniors have taken the ACT in school each spring for the last four years.

Achieving a college-ready score on the SAT or ACT is one way that the seniors can meet state graduation requirements.

But taking the tests increases the number of opportunities students get to earn a place in the college or university of their choice – and CMSD pays the test fees. 

Even if this is the first time the seniors have taken the SAT, the test may feel familiar to them.

The District has offered the rehearsal PSAT for years and last year expanded it to the eighth grade. Students also can PSAT/NMSQT, a National Merit Scholarship qualifier.

“They know the type of questions that are going to be asked,” said Karen Thompson, CMSD’s deputy director of curriculum and instruction.

CMSD has attempted to build a college-conscious culture as part of The Cleveland Plan, a customized blueprint for reform of education in the city.

CMSD is a member of the Higher Education Compact of Greater Cleveland, which works to remove barriers that prevent District students from attending and succeeding in college.

The compact, formed in 2011, has reported that CMSD students have become better prepared for higher education. Locally, Cleveland State University and Cuyahoga Community College have found that more District graduates are persisting in their studies beyond the first year.