SAT and PSAT/NMSQT Workshops

INFORMATIONAL LETTER: 61
POLICY CODE: ICHD

TO: Superintendents, High School Principals, High School Guidance Directors, AP Coordinators, and Curriculum Coordinators
FROM: Susan A. Gendron, Commissioner of Education
DATE: December 14, 2007
SUBJCT: SAT and PSAT/NMSQT Workshops

The Maine Department of Education and The New England Regional Office of the College Board are pleased to announce eight free SAT and PSAT/NMSQT content workshops across Maine from January through March 2008. High school teachers and administrators are encouraged to attend.

The SAT workshops will demonstrate instructional strategies to support and improve student achievement of the Maine Learning Results and on the SAT. The workshop brings to life The Official SAT Online Course and Teacher’s Guide focusing on English Language Arts (ELA) or mathematics. Participants will be grouped by content focus (ELA or mathematics) for the entire day. Content specialists from the College Board and the MDOE will be present at all sessions. Topics will include:

The SAT format and question types on the critical reading, mathematics and writing sections.
How the SAT aligns with and measures the Maine Learning Results.
How to improve instructional strategies to support students’ achievement of rigorous content.
Strategies to create short-term and long-term action plans to improve student learning.

The SAT workshops will take place on the following dates and at the following locations:

January 3, 2008- Black Bear Inn, Orono
January 4, 2008- University of Maine, Presque Isle
January 9, 2008- Augusta Civic Center, Augusta
January 10, 2008- Portland Holiday Inn West, Portland

The PSAT/NMSQT workshops will be split into two sessions. The first session will provide hands-on training for teams to use their school’s PSAT/NMSQT data from the October 2006 and October 2007 test administrations. The second session will enable English and mathematics teachers to focus on curricular and instructional issues in their content areas. Participants will learn to:

Analyze data sets.
Shape instructional goals in the classroom.
Identify curricular and academic strengths and weaknesses in critical reading, math, and writing.
Understand how to interpret data effectively to identify disparities between school, state, and national groups of students.
Work with team members to create short-term and long-term action plans to improve student learning.

The afternoon session of the PSAT/NMSQT workshops will enable participants to make effective use of the College Readiness system made available by the Maine Department of Education and the College Board to support student achievement and career and college planning. Participants will learn:

About My College QuickStart-a free online college planning tool provided to all PSAT/NMSQT takers for the duration of their high school careers that includes a personalized SAT study plan.
To use AP Potential to identify AP students within their school.
About CollegeEd.

The PSAT/NMSQT workshops will take place on the following dates and at the following locations:

February 27, 2008- Black Bear Inn, Orono
February 28, 2008- University of Maine, Presque Isle
March 5, 2008- Augusta Civic Center, Augusta
March 6, 2008- Portland Holiday Inn West, Portland

Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m. and the workshops run from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Lunch will be served. Participants that attend for the entire duration of the session will be awarded CEU credits for six hours of instruction.

For registration questions, please call Sandy McKechnie at 624-6770 or email mailto:sandra.mckechnie@maine.gov . For SAT questions, please contact Dan Hupp at 624-6827 or mailto:dan.hupp@maine.gov and for PSAT/NMSQT questions, please contact Susan Johnson at 439-0846 or mailto:susan.johnson@maine.gov .

Registration form: http://www.maine.gov/education/edletrs/2008/ilet/08ilet061attach.rtf