Oklahoma City Public Schools' offering of the PSAT for free to every sophomore and junior this year has not only increased participation in the test from 200 to over 2,800, it has helped 489 students become exempt from some end of the year standardized tests because of their score.
Also, more than 240 students qualified for Advanced Placement courses because of their PSAT score.
The school board heard the stats during Monday’s meeting and also reviewed state mandatory test data that showed the average student spends 20 hours a year completing standardized testing, which works out to around 2 percent of the school year.
“I think we all know that it’s a little more than 2 percent when you take into consideration the time to prepare [for the tests],” school board member Gloria Torres said.
