This year, the administration of EHS has been expressing their concern for the SAT and PSAT scores of the school. It was brought to the attention of students and teachers that despite Eaton’s prestigious reputation, the school’s scores are much lower than other schools nearby, including Kersey, Highland, and Greeley Central. 

Students and staff at Eaton would likely agree that EHS has stronger academics than other schools with higher test scores, but EHS is falling short. Because of this, the focus on the SAT and PSAT has increased dramatically. 

While the administration wanted to increase the scores of the school, they also had the students’ best interest at heart. A student’s score on the SAT can make a difference when applying to colleges. Even though some students pushed back against this change, others embraced it, and they were willing to put in the work.

Additionally, the SAT was taken in individual classrooms this year instead of one large room, like a gymnasium, in the past. The hope was to give students the resources and environment they needed to perform their best.

Junior Quirt Carrol said, “I think the pressure helped because it made me put my head down and actually study. I liked the new testing strategy because [the classrooms] were a more relaxed environment, and it helped me concentrate.”

Some advisors have implemented testing practice through Khan Academy, and the English department has included it as a grade as well. Whether this will improve scores on the PSAT and SAT isn’t known yet, but one thing is for sure; admin is determined to increase EHS’s performance in testing. 

Junior Aiden Adams said, “The extra work time before the test was helpful to understand what the test would be like, and the thing that really helped me was being able to use Khan Academy as a resource to refresh my skills in certain subjects.” 

The new goals for the PSAT and SAT didn’t only fall on students though. Social studies teacher Doug Preston spent a portion of the first semester of the school year visiting each and every advising class to help students set up their College Board and Khan Academy accounts so that they would be able to study. If students weren’t frequently reminded to study, some may have not reached their full potential. 

Until test scores are released, it will be difficult to gauge whether the new policies are increasing test scores. However, it certainly seems like students felt more confident in their testing ability.