Dear Parents and/or Guardians of Rising Tenth and Eleventh Grade Students:

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is pleased to announce plans to offer the Preliminary SAT (PSAT)/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT) to students in grades 10-11 this fall. The test will be administered on Wednesday, October 9, 2024, and will be free of charge to enrolled FCPS students. The purpose of this letter is to provide general information about the PSAT/NMSQT School Day opportunity. This letter also provides time-sensitive information about testing accommodations for students with disabilities. 

This fall, the PSAT/NMSQT will be administered in a digital format. Students and families can find more information on the College Board Digital SAT Suite of Assessments webpage. Some testing accommodations are administered differently for digital tests than for paper/pencil tests. See below for information about accommodations for students with disabilities.

The PSAT/NMSQT is a standardized test that measures mathematics and evidence-based reading and writing. The test focuses on reasoning skills, knowledge, and comprehension. It is designed to promote college readiness while preparing students for college entrance assessments. Information about test content and format can be found on the College Board PSAT/NMSQT webpage. The PSAT/NMSQT is co-sponsored by the College Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. While only students in grade 11 are eligible to compete for National Merit Scholarships, students in grade 10 who take the PSAT/NMSQT gain excellent practice for the PSAT/NMSQT in grade 11 and the SAT college entrance assessment.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities who have testing accommodations documented in a 504 Plan or an individualized education program (IEP) may be eligible for testing accommodations on the PSAT/NMSQT. However, the College Board must approve a formal request for each student. 

• If the student already has accommodations approved by College Board from a previous PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, SAT, or AP test, there is no need to resubmit requests. Once instated, accommodations remain in place for all College Board testing. As noted above, some accommodations may change or may not be needed with the new the digital test format for PSAT/NMSQT. Be sure to review your student’s approved accommodations and talk to your student to make sure that they understand how they will be testing. See the College Board webpage for information about using accommodations on digital tests. 
• Enclosures 1-3 and the Accommodations Process for College Board Testing webpage provide information on the FCPS process to request accommodations for College Board tests. If requesting new testing accommodations for PSAT/NMSQT, the required input and consent forms are due to the school by August 5, 2024. Please return forms to your student’s high school.

We are excited to be able to provide this opportunity for tenth and eleventh graders in October. Stay tuned for more information about the PSAT/NMSQT at the beginning of the school year. The PSAT/NMSQT is administered in a digital format. Students and families can find more information on the College Board webpages. 

The accommodations process provides instructions on how to request College Board testing accommodations, including the required input and consent forms (Enclosures 2-3). Testing accommodations are only available for students with a 504 Plan or individualized education program (IEP). To request new or amended College Board accommodations for the October 2024 PSAT/NMSQT, return the input and consent forms by August 5, 2024. Please return forms to your student’s high school.

The College Board multilingual learner support process provides instructions for requesting PSAT/NMSQT multilingual learner testing supports, including the required input and consent forms (Enclosures 5-6). Multilingual learners, as defined by state and federal policy, are eligible for testing supports for the PSAT/NSQQT. Supports are temporary and can only be used on the test date for which they have been requested. To request Multilingual Supports for the October 2024 PSAT/NMSQT, return the input and consent forms by August 29, 2024. Please return forms to your student’s high school.