Recognizing that many students have had difficulty finding a PSAT/NMSQT testing location this fall, the College Board will offer a new test day in January.
Recently, many schools have restricted access to College Board test administration, including the PSAT/NMSQT, to students enrolled in and attending the brick-and-mortar school—adding to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The limited availability of testing locations has especially hindered homeschool students, who rely on local public and private schools to take College Board tests.
As we previously reported, HSLDA has heard from many students experiencing difficulty finding a convenient testing location. In some cases, they have been unsuccessful in finding any test center within reasonable driving distance that was willing to accommodate them, despite contacting scores of schools.
While homeschool students in some states have a legal right to take the PSAT/NMSQT at their local public school—like Virginia and Texas—no such legal right exists in most states. Therefore, those homeschool students must rely on their local school boards to provide a fair policy for access to testing services.
A New Solution
The College Board has encouraged schools to open doors to homeschool students and other students whose schools may not be administering College Board tests, but an increasing number of schools refuse to do so, citing public health concerns.
In response, the College Board is now offering a new test day for the 2020–21 PSAT/NMSQT: Tuesday, January 26, 2021.
According to the College Board, this new January test administration “will have the same benefits as the October PSAT/NMSQT, including eligibility for programs administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.”
HSLDA applauds the College Board’s flexibility in response to the problems homeschool (and other) students have encountered. For more information on this new test day, visit the College Board’s website.