Freshman, sophomores and juniors to take  test next week

By Kathryn Purcell
Managing Editor

It might be Fall Break, but that doesn't mean that Morgan County High School students aren't studying (or shouldn't be studying).
   

Freshman, sophomores and juniors at the school are set to take the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) the Wednesday they get back from Fall Break.
   

Each year across the country, juniors take the PSAT, as the test is used by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation to determine students who qualify for the National Merit Scholarship program. In an effort to better prepare all students for the SAT, freshmen and sophomores at the school also take the test, and the school picks up the cost through funding from its charter program.
   

"It helps prepare them to take the SAT," Principal Mark Wilson said.
   

"It gives them an idea of how the test is set up and an opportunity to take it here without having to go somewhere else."
This is the second year that Morgan County High School has offered the test to freshmen and sophomores as well as juniors. Because it's the second consecutive year, Wilson is excited about the ability the school will have to compare data from last year and this year.
   

Preparations for the test have been in the works since before Fall Break. According to Wilson, teachers Brandy Nichols and Dana Buxton narrated a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation provided to the school by the College Board, the organization responsible for the PSAT and the SAT, and broadcast it on the school's news program. Students were also given a guide to the test, provided by the College Board.
   

Aside from the usual "Getting a good night's sleep" and "Eating breakfast," Wilson feels that what students are doing in and out of school should help to prepare them for the test.
   

"In preparing for it, students should continue to read and work on vocabulary; students with strong vocabularies tend to do better," Wilson said.
   

"And the math curriculum now in Georgia gets students to topics sooner."
   

Freshmen, sophomores and juniors at Morgan County High School will take the three-hour test beginning at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, October 15.