PSATs disqualified

The scores from February's PSAT have been disqualified from counting in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Instead, the original PSAT taken in October will be scored and considered for National Merit scholarships.

According to Wilson, students should receive scores from the October test within a few weeks.

According to assistant principal Richard Wilson, the College Board offered the February re-test because the October PSATs were quarantined at a Trenton, New Jersey mail facility after a letter containing anthrax was found there.

The quarantine was not lifted until recently, and the tests arrived at the College Board on May 15, the last day that the College Board would accept the October test.

Some items previously recovered from quarantined postal facilities were damaged, according to United States Postal Service representative Rachel Lee, creating a possibility that the October answer sheets might be scored incorrectly.

Wilson believes that some students might be negatively affected by the invalidation of the February tests. "There was a growth period," said Wilson. "Some students learned material in the interval between the two tests."

He added that students who performed better on the later test will have to deal with the College Board's decision. "It's just tough luck, because they're being compared on the same scale as everybody else," he said.

However, Wilson also believes that the College Board's decision may help students who were able to take the PSAT in October but not in February. "A lot of students did not take the test in February," said Wilson. "So I'm glad they'll have a chance at the scholarship."