Assessment

The New Hampshire Statewide Assessment System (NH SAS) is the state's general summative assessment for students in grades 3-8 and 11. Students participate in the NH SAS, unless they qualify for the alternate assessment. NH SAS is given in each spring to measure student knowledge and skills in English language arts (grades 3-8), mathematics (grades 3-8), and science (grades 5, 8, and 11). The NH SAS for science is a computerized assessment where students answer questions related to Earth Space Science, Life Science, and Physical Science while utilizing their science skills such as modeling, arguing with evidence, asking questions, testing solutions, designing experiments, and more. This assessment is based off of the Next Generation Science Standards for high school.

Students can use the Study Tools and information from our NH SAS Science Test Prep “One-Pager” to help prepare for the assessment at any time! We also complete some practice questions in Science courses throughout the year.

Learn more here → NH SAS for Students & Families

KHS Contact: Director of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment - Abby Blais
 

The digital SAT School Day with Essay is composed of three sections: Reading/Writing, Math, and the Essay. Students have 64 minutes to complete the Reading and Writing section, 70 minutes to complete the Math section, and 50 minutes to complete the Essay for a total of 2 hours and 14 minutes.

The Reading/Writing and Math sections are divided into 2 equal length modules, and there is a 10-minute break between the Reading and Writing section and the Math section. The first module of each section contains a broad mix of easy, medium, and hard questions. Based on how students perform on the first module, the second module of questions will either be more difficult or less difficult. Compared to the ACT®, the SAT provides 68% more time per question.

Most of the questions are multiple choice, though some of the math questions ask you to enter the answer rather than select it. On all questions, there's no penalty for guessing: if you're not sure of the answer, it's better to guess than leave the response blank. 

Learn more here → SAT School Day from CollegeBoard and SAT Essay from CollegeBoard

KHS Contact: Director of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment - Abby Blais

The PSAT NMSQT takes 2 hours and 14 minutes and consists of 2 sections: (1) the Reading and Writing Section, and (2) the Math Section. Most of the questions are multiple choice, though some math questions ask you to write in the answer rather than select it. Students who take the PSAT NMSQT and meet other program entry requirements specified in the PSAT NMSQT Student Guide will enter the National Merit Scholarship Program, an academic competition for recognition and scholarships conducted by National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). 

Learn more here → PSAT NMSQT from CollegeBoard

KHS Contact: Director of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment - Abby Blais

The PSAT 10 takes 2 hours and 14 minutes and consists of 2 sections: (1) the Reading and Writing Section, and (2) the Math Section. Most of the questions are multiple choice, though some math questions ask you to write in the answer rather than select it. The PSAT 10 is scored the same way as the PSAT NMSQT and the SAT and is meant to prepare students for those assessments where they can then begin qualifying for merit scholarships and applying to various paths after high school.

Learn more here → PSAT 10 from CollegeBoard

KHS Contact: Director of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment - Abby Blais

AP courses are reviewed and approved by college faculty to make sure that every student who takes AP is being asked to do college-level work, no matter where they take it. Teachers teaching AP courses use the reviewed and approved curriculum. AP Exams are a standard way to measure how well students have mastered the subject matter and some colleges/universities will take a passing AP Exam score (typically 3, 4, or 5) for college credit. The AP Courses available at Keene High School are listed in our Program of Studies.

Learn more here Understanding AP Exams from College Board

KHS Contact: Jenny Donovan, Director of School Counseling or your student’s Counselor

Dynamic Learning Maps® (DLM®) assessments are for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities for whom general state assessments are not appropriate, even with accommodations. DLM assessments offer these students a way to show what they know and can do in English language arts, mathematics, and science. DLM assessments also help parents and educators set high academic expectations for their students. Results from DLM assessments are used to inform instruction and meet accountability requirements for reporting student achievement.

Learn more here → Dynamic Learning Maps

KHS Contact: Director of Special Services - Kristen Stroshine or your student’s Case Manager

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery is the most widely used multiple-aptitude test battery in the world. The ASVAB measures your strengths, weaknesses and potential for future success in four domains: verbal, math, science and technical, and spatial. The ASVAB includes tests in 10 areas: general science (GS), arithmetic reasoning (AR), word knowledge (WK), paragraph comprehension (PC), mathematics knowledge (MK), electronics information (EI), auto information (AI), shop information (SI), mechanical comprehension (MC) and assembling objects (AO). It provides career information for various civilian and military occupations and is an indicator for success in future endeavors, such as college, vocational school or a military career. 

Learn more here → ASVAB

KHS Contact: Jenny Donovan, Director of School Counseling or your student’s Counselor

The PSAT 8/9 takes 2 hours and 14 minutes and consists of 2 sections: (1) the Reading and Writing section, and (2) the Math section. Most of the questions are multiple choice, though some of the math questions ask you to type in the answer rather than select it. The PSAT 8/9 is scored the same way as the PSAT NMSQT and the SAT and is meant to prepare students for those assessments where they can then begin qualifying for merit scholarships and applying to various paths after high school.

Learn more here → PSAT 8/9 from CollegeBoard
KHS Contact: Director of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment - Abby Blais

The Citizenship Exam is a New Hampshire state graduation requirement. The assessment is 128 questions developed by USCIS and must be taken in English. Students must score with a minimum of 70% to pass (about 90 questions). Students often first attempt the exam in their 9th grade Civics and Economics class. They take another attempt at the assessment during their 11th grade US History class. For all students who have not passed by grade 11, proctored test sessions are run year-round that counselors are able to sign students up to attend to continue attempting the assessment as many times as needed until students pass. 

Learn more here → KHS Citizenship Test Prep Resources
KHS Contact: Director of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment - Abby Blais
 

Student Preparation Guides & Videos from CollegeBoard:

• PSAT 8/9 Student Guide
• PSAT 10 Student Guide
• PSAT NMSQT Student Guide
• SAT School Day w/ Essay Student Guide
• Understanding the SAT Essay
• Getting Your Teen Ready for the SAT Video
• What to Expect on Test Day Videos
  • PSAT NMSQT
  • SAT

Practice Tools:

CollegeBoard SAT Prep Resources and Practice Essay Questions
Students should have created a CollegeBoard account after their first testing season at KHS and were instructed to use their SAU29 student email. Students can then log-in again at any time by using their SAU29 email.

Khan Academy SAT Prep
Students can create an account or may already have an account with Khan Academy using their SAU29 school email. They should just use the “Log-In with Google Feature” after going directly to the website.

IXL SAT Prep
Students should log-in by going to Clever, then logging in with their SAU29 email. They can then select the IXL app.
During Advisory, students are given their CollegeBoard Score Reports and instructed to enter their PSAT/SAT scores into IXL. IXL then gives students tailored practice based on their strengths and weaknesses. Only students have access to IXL and only with their SAU29 account.

Tutor.Com SAT Prep
While students are logged into their SAU29 school email address. They should click on their “Google Waffle” in the top right hand corner of their browser. If they scroll through their list of apps, they will see “Tutor.Com” is an option. Once they click on that they should be automatically able to access all the features associated with their SAU29 account, including the SAT Test Prep options that are available. Only students have access to Tutor.Com and only with their SAU29 account.

About 1 month after each testing season scores from the SAT Suite of Assessments are released to students directly on CollegeBoard. Students should have made a CollegeBoard account using their school email during Advisory just before or after the first testing season they participated in an assessment at KHS. CollegeBoard Score Release Schedule 2026

In Advisory, students will then also be provided with a paper copy of their score report each test season. Teachers go over how to read and understand their scores as well as remind students about test prep tools they can use year round to continue to improve based on their scores. Students are encouraged to use the Test Prep Tools in the section above year-round during the Advisory time after scheduling themselves for I-Time.

Here are some additional resources that can help students and families understand their student’s PSAT/SAT Scores.

• Understanding Your PSAT 8/9 Score Results Video
• Understanding Your PSAT 10 Score Results Video
• Understanding Your PSAT NMSQT Score Results Video
• How the SAT is Scored Video
• Understanding Your SAT Score Results Video
• Understanding the SAT Essay

The SAT Suite of Assessments is comparable the entire way through. If a student scored a 500 on the PSAT 8/9, that is the same score they would have received if they had taken the PSAT 10, PSAT NMSQT, or the SAT. So student scores on any PSAT test are a direct predictor of how students will score on the SAT.

The image below shows the possible score range on each section (Reading/Writing and Math) for each assessment. This means the highest total possible score on the PSAT 8/9 is a 1440, PSAT 10 and PSAT NMSQT is a 1520, and the SAT is a 1600.

Note that the Essay associated with the SAT is reported out as a separate score and not included in the total score for the SAT.