PSAT 10

On Monday, April 19, 2021 Mount Vernon will host the PSAT 10 test for pre-registered 10^th graders. Students should plan to arrive to Mount Vernon by 8:10 AM. The PSAT 10 is approximately 3 hours, so parents should plan to pick up their student around 12:00 PM. (Students with College-Board approved extended time accommodations will finish later.)

General information about the PSAT 10 is available on College Board’s webpage. The PSAT 10 Student Guide is also a good source for general information, testing tips, and practice. The PSAT 10 must be administered at school in-person. We will be following the FCPS Health and Safety Protocols for Assessments, which can be found at the following website: https://www.fcps.edu/node/41890.

What should my student bring to school for the PSAT 10 test? 

• A mask that covers your nose and mouth – Masks must be worn the entire time students and staff are in the building.
• Two or more No. 2 pencils with erasers (not mechanical)
• Graphing Calculator – A list of approved calculators can be found here. Test questions can be answered without a calculator.
• Water and Snacks – Snacks may be consumed during breaks. We request that snacks are peanut free.

Drop Off/Pick up Information

Families providing their own transportation will use Door 6. Families who requested FCPS bus transportation to and from Mount Vernon will use Door 4 (“The Rock” entrance). Detailed bus information will be emailed.

May SOL Testing

This spring, Virginia high school students will be taking Standards of Learning (SOL) End-of-Course (EOC) tests. Federal and state education departments have decided not to cancel assessments. A Frequently Asked Questions webpage (https://www.fcps.edu/node/43148) provides more information about SOL EOC tests in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). 

Virginia state law requires students to earn verified credits for high school courses to fulfill graduation requirements for a standard or advanced studies diploma. SOL tests are the most common way students earn the verified credits they need. Visit the FCPS Graduation Requirements and Course Planning webpage https://www.fcps.edu/academics/graduation-requirements-and-course-planning for more information.

Mount Vernon will schedule SOL tests between May 3 and May 27, 2021. All SOL tests will be taken in-person at school. SOL tests are not available for remote delivery from home. SOL tests will be scheduled on Mondays or designated asynchronous days so that students’ class time will be minimally impacted. Student specific SOL testing information will be emailed to parents/guardians and student’s @fcpsschools.net email accounts. FCPS bus transportation will be available on test days for families who request it.

The table below shows the SOL tests available in May.

*FCPS students currently enrolled in a Social Studies SOL course will use a classroom performance assessment in place of the SOL test to earn their verified credit.

If families do not want their student to take SOL tests at school, you have the right to defer or refuse SOL testing. FCPS’s Right to Refuse Assessments webpage at https://www.fcps.edu/node/34277 contains important information as you consider this decision. Please remember that students will still need to fulfill graduation requirements even if families decide to defer or refuse SOL tests this year. Students may attempt deferred/refused SOL tests next school year. Contact your student’s counselor or our Assessment Coach, Katrina Tran at @email, if you have questions.

Parents/guardians will need to complete the MVHS May 2021 SOL Testing Intent Form by Wednesday, April 21 to inform the school about their student’s intent to participate or to defer/refuse SOL testing. The form will be sent to the email address that is currently in our school database.

SOL Laptop Requirements

Testing must be done on students' FCPS-issued laptops. If a student is experiencing issues with an FCPS-issued laptop, please visit the FCPS Parent and Student IT Support Portal as soon as possible. Students participating in SOL testing will need to install the latest update of Test Nav to FCPS-issued laptops. Access the TestNav Update instructions document for details for completing the TestNav update.

ACT Center Code = 207680

MVHS Address 8515 Old Mount Vernon Road, Alexandria, VA 22309

PSAT 10 Testing Day (10^th grade only): April 19^th, 2021

Students should arrive to school by 8:10 AM, as testing will begin at promptly at 8:30 AM. The estimated ending time for standard testing will be sometime between 11:45 AM and 12:00 PM. (Students with College-Board approved extended time accommodations will finish later.)

Students (@fcpsschools.net Gmail) and parents/guardians will receive an email the week of April 12th with specific details.

Next PSAT/NMSQT Testing Day: October 2021

MVHS Testing at a Glance Schedule

SAT Test Center Code = 470030

MVHS Address 8515 Old Mount Vernon Road, Alexandria, VA 22309

Additional information and schedules will be shared when available.

May SOL Testing Dates

• Monday, May 3 – Chemistry and Geosystems (Earth Science)
• Tuesday, May 4 (asynchronous day) – Biology
• Wednesday, May 5 (asynchronous day) – Reading
• Monday, May 10 – Geometry and Algebra 2
• Monday May 17 – Algebra 1

Senior Make-Ups and Re-takes

• Friday, May 14
• Tuesday, May 18
• Wednesday, May 19
• Thursday, May 20

Underclass Make-Ups and Re-takes

• Thursday, May 20
• Monday, May 24
• Tuesday, May 25
• Thursday, May 27

Test Times

Students should arrive to school by 8:10 AM, as testing will begin at promptly at 8:30 AM. Ending times will vary. Students will be emailed a Student Test Schedule to their @fcpsschools.net email accounts which will include specific details.

What should students bring for SOL tests?

• A mask – Masks that cover the nose and mouth must be worn by everyone in the building.
• FCPS-issued laptop and charger – Students are expected to bring a fully charged laptop to testing.
• Writing Utensil – A pencil or pen.
• Calculator – For math and science SOLs only.
• Bags/backpacks – Bags will be placed underneath student desks while testing.
• Water – It is recommended that students bring a disposable water bottle.
• Snacks/Lunch – Students cannot eat while testing. Snacks/lunch will be consumed at a designated time. We request that snacks/lunch are peanut free.
  • Note: FCPS Grab and Go breakfast and lunch will also be available on test days.
• Cell Phones – Cell phones must be powered off and placed in student bags while testing.

Bus Transportation

FCPS bus transportation will be available on test days for families who request it. Families will need to complete the MVHS May 2021 SOL Testing Intent Form to let the school know that bus transportation is needed.

Mount Vernon High School will be following all health protocols required by the state of Virginia, Fairfax County, and College Board.  Please be aware of the following protocols prior to arriving:

• Masks will be required, at all times, for both testers and SAT staff.  
• Social distancing will be practiced to the best of the SAT staff’s ability and testers will be strongly encouraged to maintain social distancing at all other times (e.g., building entry/exit, bathroom breaks).  
• Hand sanitizer will be available at the Main Entrance, as well as in each testing room.  
• Regarding building entry:  
  • Testers will enter the building through the Main Entrance (Entrance #1) at the front of Mount Vernon’s building.  Parents/guardians must remain in their cars.  
  • Outside the main entrance area, there will be three separate lines set up for testers to line up in as they wait to enter the building.  There are no distinctions between the lines -- having three will speed up the process of getting testers into the building more quickly.  

 Testers please reference FCPS Student Health & Safety Guidance

• Testers will be required to verbally respond to questions from a “health questionnaire” provided to us by College Board.  An SAT staff person will ask each tester to read the statements aloud.  No tester will be permitted into the building without having completed this step.  Here are the five statements to which a tester must agree:  
  • In the past 14 days, you have not come into close contact (within 6 feet) with someone who has a positive covid-19 test or is presumed to have covid-19.  
  • You do not have covid-19 or reason to believe you have covid-19. Symptoms of covid-19 include cough, fever, chills, muscle pain, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell.  
  • To your knowledge, you are not violating any travel restrictions or quarantining requirements.  
  • You agree to wear a mask the entire time you’re at this test site and follow instructions from testing staff.  
  • We have taken measures to help create a safe testing environment; however, it isn’t possible to entirely remove the risk of covid-19 exposure.  By entering the testing room, you’re accepting that risk.  

  • Once the Health Form has been read aloud, a tester will then move forward to go through the door and into the Main Lobby, where he/she will be stopped at a table with rosters attached to it -- SAT staff will help testers to find their assigned rooms, and testers will then proceed to those rooms.   Regarding testing rooms:

    • As always, before testers can be allowed into their assigned testing room, they must provide two pieces of identification to the Room Proctor -- their printed Testing Ticket, and a valid ID of some kind (please check here concerning allowable and not allowable forms of identification).
      • This fall only, testers are permitted to use government-issued IDs (including passports) that expired in the past 12 months, or a SY18-19 school ID.  
      • This fall only, testers may be admitted without a printed admission ticket if they can present their admission ticket (PDF) on their mobile phone.
    • Testers should do everything they can to have their identification ready when they arrive at their testing room, so they can move into the room quickly and help avoid testers clustering around a test room door.  
    • Students must temporarily pull their masks down during center and room check-in, pulling them away from their face for ID verification.  Efforts will be made to ensure students stand an appropriate distance away from the staff admitting students to the room.  
    • Each testing room will have a container of hand sanitizer available, and each SAT staff member will be wearing disposable gloves.  
    • Paper bags will be provided for testers to place their electronic devices in -- the tester will label his/her own bag, then place it into a bin during the test -- this way,  SAT staff do not need to handle tester devices.    
• Regarding breaks between testing sections:  
  • Breaks will be extended, to give testers time to use the restroom, etc. without having to cluster around bathroom entrances -- for example, what would normally be a five-minute break will be extended to a ten-minute break.  
  • Testers will be dismissed from their testing rooms two at a time by the room monitor, and there can be no more than two students in a restroom at a time.  
  • Hall Monitors will be moving about the hallways to do all they can to encourage testers not to cluster together, and to move back into their testing room as quickly as possible.      
• Regarding student dismissal:

Once testers in a particular testing room have finished, the Room Proctor will dismiss them one at a time, to help maintain social distancing -- testers must then move quickly to exit the building through the same entrance they entered earlier that morning.

Mount Vernon High School will be following all health protocols required by the state of Virginia, Fairfax County, and ACT.  Please be aware of the following protocols prior to arriving to test on the dates noted above:

• Masks will be required, at all times, for both testers and ACT staff.  
• Social distancing will be practiced to the best of the ACT staff’s ability  
• Regarding building entry:
  • Testers taking the ACT Without Essay and with Essay will report to Door 1. Please locate signs at Door 1 to ensure you at the correct entrance point. Parents will not be permitted in the check in line with their student.  They are welcome to wait in the parking lot until their student is admitted.  
• At the beginning of each line (at the parking lot end of the Main Entrance area), a tester must have his/her temperature taken.  Any temperatures above 100.4 degrees will mean the tester cannot test that day and will need to contact ACT regarding a reschedule.    
  • Entrance 1, testers will be required to respond to questions from a “health questionnaire” provided to us by ACT.  No tester will be permitted into the building without having completed this questionnaire.  Here are the six statements to which a tester must agree:  
  • • Have you tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 in the last 14 days?
    • Have you had any of these symptoms in the last 14 days?
      • Fever greater than 100 degrees
      • Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
      • Cough
      • Chills
      • Muscle pain
      • Sore throat
      • New loss of taste or smell
    • Are you experiencing fever, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, a cough, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell at this time?
    • Have you been in close contact with someone displaying these known symptoms of COVID-19?
    • Have you been in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 or who has tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 in the last 14 days?
    • Have you traveled outside the country or to any high-risk locations in the last 14 days or been in close contact with someone who traveled to high-risk locations in the past 14 days?  
      • Testers will be required to wear masks at all times upon entering the building.  
      • Tester entry will be staggered, so that only a few students are entering the building at a time, to allow space between testers as they locate their assigned testing room.  
      • Hand sanitizer will be available at each entrance.  
• Regarding testing rooms:  
  • As always, before testers can be allowed into their assigned testing room, they must provide two pieces of identification to the Room Proctor -- their printed Testing Ticket, and a valid ID of some kind ACT Test Day - The ACT Test  
  • Testers should do everything they can to have their identification ready when they arrive at their testing room, so they can move into the room quickly and help avoid testers clustering around a test room door.  
  • Students must temporarily pull their masks down during center and room check-in, pulling them away from their face for ID verification.  Efforts will be made to ensure students stand an appropriate distance away from the staff admitting students to the room.  
  • Each testing room will have a container of hand sanitizer available.  
• Regarding breaks between testing sections:  
  • Breaks will be administered per ACT protocol and NO extended breaks will be provided.   
  • Students are permitted to take breaks in the room and, so long as they are away from their desk. This will ensure test materials remain intact.  
  • Hall Monitors will be moving about the hallways to do all they can to encourage testers not to cluster together, and to move back into their testing room as quickly as possible.    
• Regarding student dismissal:  
  • Once testers in a particular testing room have finished, the Room Proctor will dismiss them in a staggered fashion -- testers must then move quickly to exit the building through the same entrance they entered earlier that morning.

Mount Vernon will be following the FCPS Health and Safety Protocols for Assessments, which can be found at the following website: https://www.fcps.edu/node/41890.

Important Notes:

• Masks that cover the nose and mouth are required for everyone in the building.
• Families should monitor for symptoms of infectious illness. Students who are feeling sick should not attend assessments in the building.
• Families commit to completing a daily health screening before sending students into the building. FCPS’ COVID-19 Health Screening Questionnaire can be found on this website: https://www.fcps.edu/return-school/student-health-and-safety-guidance-document#forms.

Mount Vernon Specifics:

• Testing locations will be emailed to both students and parents/guardians the week of April 12
• Desks will be arranged a minimum of 6 feet apart
• Large testing locations will be utilized to space out students as much as possible
• Students will bring and use their own testing supplies; Any borrowed supplies will not be redistributed

Updated information is coming soon!

Mount Vernon High School will be following the FCPS Health and Safety Protocols for Assessments, which can be found at the following website: https://www.fcps.edu/node/41890.

Important Notes

• Masks that cover the nose and mouth are required for everyone in the building.
• Families should monitor for symptoms of infectious illness. Students who are feeling sick should not attend assessments in the building.
• Families commit to completing a daily health screening before sending students into the building. FCPS’ COVID-19 Health Screening Questionnaire can be found on this website: https://www.fcps.edu/return-school/student-health-and-safety-guidance-document#forms.

Mount Vernon Specifics

• Desks will be arranged a minimum of 6 feet apart
• Large testing locations will be utilized to space out students as much as possible