Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is moving forward with planning for the possibility of offering the PSAT to interested Grade 11 students on January 26, 2021, as health and safety conditions allow.  The purpose of this memorandum is to begin the planning process and plan for an ordering deadline of December 4, 2020.

• Based on College Board guidance and group size protocols, this PSAT administration would be offered to interested Grade 11 students only.  Note that the January PSAT administration will have the same benefits as the October PSAT/NMSQT, including eligibility for programs administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
• As in previous years, interested Grade 11 students would register through an internal process at their local school, including paying the $17 testing fee for the assessment.  Fee waivers from the College Board also are available through the school PSAT ordering process.  Information on fee waivers can be found here.
• Schools need to order testing materials for Grade 11 students by December 4, 2020, by projecting the number of Grade 11 students expected to participate. Schools are encouraged to over-order to ensure enough testing materials and will not be charged for unused testing materials.
• It is not expected that all Grade 11 students participate in the assessment, as the SAT School Day is also being planned for Grade 11 students in spring 2021.  For the PSAT, interested Grade 11 students, students seeking SAT practice and official score reporting, and students interested in National Merit are encouraged to register.
• PSAT for Grade 10 students—PSAT 10—will have testing windows available later in spring 2021 and will not be part of the January administration.