The PSAT on Homecoming: A new tradition for 10th, 11th graders?

Written by Katie Stueber, Teen Times Reporter
Monday, 26 October 2009 11:00

Homecoming is a tradition celebrated at schools nation-wide. It is an event that every student eagerly awaits and is a time when the student body comes together to show their school spirit. The week proceeding Homecoming is full of special events such as field day and spirit days, which lead up to Homecoming Saturday with the parade, football game and school dance. It is almost impossible for students not to get excited. This year, however, Homecoming at Darien High School was different for nearly half of the student body.

Students in the sophomore and junior classes had to wake at the crack of dawn, arriving at school at precisely 7:30 a.m. with their pencils sharpened and minds ready for hours of testing. This is because the PSAT took place on Homecoming Saturday this year, instead of on a school day as in the past.

The main goal of moving the PSAT, the test students take before the SAT, to a Saturday from a weekday was to preserve classroom time, according to Principal Dan Haron. But why was Homecoming Saturday chosen out of all the other Saturdays in the year?

The administration at Darien High School did consider other dates to administer the PSAT according to Mr. Haron, but the only available options were either Wednesday or Saturday. In the end Saturday was selected. Homecoming could not have been moved because it was restricted by the football games and the SAT, which took place on the previous Saturday. With no other alternative dates when the PSAT could take place, the only time slot available was Saturday, Oct. 17, which happened to be Homecoming.

Mr. Haron is a strong supporter of the PSAT’s move to Saturday: “I think it’s a great change, I pushed for it starting last year,” he said.

The PSAT used to be administered on Saturdays, before being moved to a school day and Mr. Haron was determined to switch it back to Saturday to provide more continuity of teaching in the classroom during the first quarter of school “to the benefit of DHS students,” he said.

Mr. Haron said, before homecoming, that he believed the testing would have no effect on the Homecoming festivities, as the test started at 8 a.m. and was over before the football game and parade even began. Students could still attend all the Homecoming events after the testing, he said.

Faculty at DHS has been supportive of the change, as they are happy that the PSAT will not interrupt classroom time. As for parents, the principal said he has received mixed opinions about the change, some negative and some encouraging. But Mr. Haron said that when he explained his side of the argument in more detail to the parents, the majority were supportive.

The administration sees this as a positive change that will be beneficial to DHS students, but the student body has a different outlook on this situation. When asked, many sophomores and juniors are opposed to the scheduling change, declaring it an injustice to the students.

Sophomore Isabella D’Agosto said that the administering of the PSAT on Homecoming is “disrespectful to the student body seeing that Homecoming is a time to recognize your school spirit, and it should not be suppressed with standardized testing.”

Out of all the students interviewed, none were supportive of the change and thought the testing should still take place during the week, or at least not on Homecoming Saturday.

“It was a major bummer and ruined my Homecoming,” junior Doug Wells, who took the PSAT this past weekend, said. “I wish it could have been during the week like it was in the past.”

It was also predicted that the testing would affect the number of students attending the football game against rival Trinity Catholic High School. Zoe Burge, a student who took the PSAT, said that, “testing is extremely draining, and I’m going home afterwards instead of going to the game.”

Sophomore Matt Pik, who also took the PSAT, thinks that even after taking the PSAT, “I might as well go to the game to show my Blue Wave Pride, but I probably won’t have as much energy to support the team than if I hadn’t just gone through hours of testing.”

Students were worried not only that testing would a factor in the number of students attending the game, but that it would also have an impact on the football players participating in the game. Right after testing, players have to report to the field and begin warming up for the big game, which may have an effect in their overall performance during this crucial game of the season. In the end, the DHS football team scored another victory, regardless of the testing, 35-6.

The administration plans to keep the PSAT testing on Saturdays in the future, but with any luck, it won’t fall on the same day as Homecoming next year.