Starting on Tuesday the 13th of April, Coronado will be in a testing mode and mood!
After a regular day of school with a 2-hour late start on Monday, we will enter our national testing phase beginning with the juniors taking the SAT test on Tuesday. No one else will have school or even online class on that day!
On Wednesday, the freshmen will be taking their version of the SAT called the PSAT9. It’s a national test used to replace all the CMAS stuff you’ve had to do in the past. Also, it’s pretty helpful because it will be a better preparation for the SAT when you take that as juniors.
On Thursday, the sophomores will take the PSAT10. This is used to determine some scholarship eligibility, like the National Merit Scholars. Also, it’s a pretty solid indicator of what you need to do in order to get ready for the SAT junior year.
A couple of things to know about testing:
· You can’t bring your phone. While it’s probably no surprise that you can’t snap your buddies for some answers, you might not know that the whole room’s tests will be tossed out if your phone even rings during the test. Harsh, maybe, but they are working to level the playing field (especially after the crazy scandals that rocked the standardized testing/college admissions world over the past year).
· Don’t bring your smart watch. Just bring your smartest self. The watch thing is pretty much the same as the phone thing, but less obvious when you are checking in. Just leave it at home and get your steps in later. It’s only a half day, anyway.
· You can bring water and snacks. But you can only eat during breaks and you can’t have your water on your desk. Imagine if you spilled water all over your test booklet. They are that recycled type of paper that is pretty flimsy.
· Get some good sleep and eat a good breakfast. Both are vital for optimal brain function.
Seniors, you have a solid three-day weekend right in the middle of the week, and everyone else has a couple of days off. This is a VERY good time to get caught up on classwork, GradPoint stuff, track training, laundry, yardwork, etc.

The bus will be rolling in at the usual time, but will leave when the test is done.
You must be in your testing room by 7:45 and the buses will roll out at noon (12:30 on Tuesday for the juniors).

Best of luck. Be smart. Be resilient. Be you. Also, if you can manage, be Aidan.