Choose Test Rooms
Selecting the best testing areas for the PSAT/NMSQT
Make sure your school's test rooms are correctly prepared. Each test room should meet the following criteria:
Test room environment
- Room is away from noisy areas or distracting activities.
- No disruptive events are scheduled on test day.
- Room has proper ventilation and lighting.
- Room contains no displays that might provide assistance to students during the test such as maps, charts, etc.
Test room equipment
Each test room should contain:
- Enough room to permit a distance of four feet between students
- Desks or tables—all facing forward—with good writing surfaces and room for a test book, answer sheet, and calculator side by side
- Two timepieces to prevent mistiming
- An easily visible clock (if there is no clock, post the time remaining for each test section at regular intervals)
- A place to post your school code, test date, and start and stop times so all students can see them
- A microphone or public address system, if needed, in large testing rooms (do not use a public address system to administer the test in more than one room simultaneously)