1. Parent Night North Hills Preparatory January 2014 Road to College Counseling Office Spring Semester Parent Night Road to College Counseling Office Spring Semester Parent Night Jakkia Hollingsworth – Dean of College Prep/Academic Counselor Langston Ross – College Counselor Sonya Barron – Alumni Counselor Scott Ivy – Academic Counselor

2. Evening Agenda 6:00 pm- 6: 30 pm- Presentation 6:30 pm- 6:45 pm- Road to College Parent Information 6:45- 7:30 pm- IB parent night with AP/DP Dean Heather Pereira At 6:30- 9 th grade parents are welcome to adjourn, unless they wish to stay for the IB Program presentation.

3. Parent Night North Hills Preparatory January 2014 Interpreting Your PSAT, EXPLORE, PLAN, and ACT Scores

4. 4 Major Parts of Your PSAT/NMSQT Results Your Scores Your Skills Your Answers Critical Reading Mathematics Writing Skills Next Steps 3 Test Sections

5. Your Scores Percentile If you are a junior, your scores are compared to those of other juniors. If you are a sophomore or younger student, your scores are compared to those of sophomores. Score You can see your projected SAT score online in My College QuickStart (www.collegeboard.org/quickstart).www.collegeboard.org/quickstart Score Range

6. National Merit Scholarship Corporation Information The Entry Requirements section displays information you provided on your answer sheet. The Percentile compares your performance to that of other college-bound juniors. The Selection Index is the sum of your critical reading, mathematics and writing skills scores. If it has an asterisk, you do not meet all of the eligibility requirements for the competition. For example, the National Merit Scholarship is only for 11 th grade students.

7. See how you did on each skill. The same skills are tested on the SAT. Your Skills You can try hundreds of practice questions, organized by skill, online in My College QuickStart (www.collegeboard.org/quickstart).www.collegeboard.org/quickstart

8. Your Answers You will get your test book back with your PSAT/NMSQT results, so that you can review the questions. You can also review each test question in My College QuickStart.

9. Your Answers: Student-Produced Responses Some of the math problems required you to grid in answers instead of selecting an option. For these questions, you will see the correct answer(s) written out.

10. What’s next? Use the access code on your report to log in to My College QuickStart, a personalized college and career planning kit. There you can: Search for colleges Get a personalized SAT study plan Take a personality test to find majors and careers that fit you www.collegeboard.org/quickstart Next Steps

11. My College QuickStart

12. My Online Score Report Projected SAT® score ranges State percentiles You can filter questions Questions and answer explanations

13. My College QuickStart My SAT Study Plan™ Personalized skills to improve SAT practice questions An official SAT practice test

14. My College QuickStart Log in to your personalized account at www.collegeboard.org/quickstart

15. College Admissions Practice Testing @ NHP Grade LevelSATACT FreshmanPSATEXPLORE SophomorePSATPLAN JuniorPSAT/NMSQTACT

16. PLAN o The PLAN Student Score Report contains a lot of information about your skills, interests, plans, and goals. o You can use this information to: o make sure your remaining high school courses are the best ones possible to prepare you for college o help you consider your options for after high school

17. PLAN & EXPLORE: What Do My Scores Mean? Your scores are between 1 and 25 on the EXPLORE (for 9 th grade), 1 and 32 on the PLAN (for 10 th grade), and 1 and 36 on the ACT (for 11 th grade). Just like grades, your scores tell you how well you did on each test. Your Composite score is simply the average of your test scores in English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science(rounded to a whole number). On the PLAN and EXPLORE the two scores directly under English and Math only range from 1 to 16. They tell you how well you did in two specific areas of each subject. These scores added together do NOT necessarily equal your English or Math Test scores.

19. How Do My Scores Compare with Those of Other Students Who Took PLAN? Next to your scores, you'll find the percent of students scoring at or below your score. This shows you how your scores compare to those of students across the country who took PLAN. The example above shows 83% next to the student's English score. This means she scored as high as or higher than 83% of students in the comparison group who took PLAN. The other percents show how you scored relative to other students who took PLAN in your school, your school district, and your state.

21. Am I on Track? EXPLORE is designed for 9 th graders, PLAN is designed for 10th graders and the ACT is designed for 11th and 12th graders. Over time, EXPLORE, PLAN and the ACT measure your college readiness skills as you progress through high school. Your scores can be used to predict how you are likely to do if you take the ACT as an 11th or 12th grader and keep working hard. The estimated ACT Composite score range is a prediction about how you are likely to score on the ACT if you take the right courses and work hard in those courses. You can use these predicted or estimated scores to see if you are on track to achieve the scores you want when you take the ACT later in high school. Keep in mind that these scores are only estimates, not guarantees. Improving your study habits and taking more challenging courses are likely to improve your ACT scores.

23. How Can I Improve? The back of your Score Report describes the skills and knowledge you already probably have. You'll also see some ideas for improving even more in the different subject areas. The suggestions are based on your scores and can help you do better.

24. Credit Recovery For students who fail a ONE semester course (ex. Government, Economics): Summer School occurs in June at NHP using the PLATO online self-paced learning system. Cost TBD, but predicted to be $200 per semester, as in previous years. For students who fail a semester of a TWO semester course (aka year-long course) (ex. English, Math) If Semester 1 and Semester 2 average a 69 or lower, the lower of the 2 semesters will be repeated at summer school at NHP. Maximum of 2 semesters of credit can be earned (1 morning class, 1 afternoon class)

25. Course Registration Counselors will register students for next years’ courses in their English classes this spring. Course registration sheets with lists of course offerings will be distributed in class and posted on NHP webpage. Incoming 10 th graders will typically have 7.5 classes English, Chemistry, World History, Spanish or French, Math, Technology Class, Fine Arts, 1 semester Study Hall, 1 semester PE Incoming 11 th graders will typically have 7 or 8 classes English, Physics, US History, Spanish or French, Math, 1 semester Government, 1 semester Theory of Knowledge, and 2 electives Electives are often used to continue in a Fine Art or take a 2 nd science or 2 nd math.

26. Road To College Trip Information At 6:45, all parents with students registered to attend a Road to College trip will meet in their respective trip groups. At which time, housekeeping information will be shared as well as departure information. Please see below for the to find your trip facilitator information.

27. Summer Enrichment Opportunities College preparation truly begins in the 9 th grade. With major emphasis at this time on academic progress, colleges also seek students that doing something worthwhile with their summers. Examples: Volunteering Summer jobs Camps and Internships Summer enrichment classes Between 10 th and 11 th : Government at North Lake College See counselors for summer programs that suit your goals and interests.

28. Other Summer Activities As your family travels, use this time to visit colleges. College exposure is key to finding the right fit college for each scholar. Though summer is a time where most students are not on campus, students can determine a preference of size, location, and offerings. Some scholars also use summer to participate in SAT/ACT test prep. Typically students begin seriously taking the ACT/SAT for college admission in the Spring semester of junior year. Be PRODUCTIVE!