3.1 Devices, What to Bring, and Calculator Policy

The PSAT 8/9 is a school-administered digital test in the Bluebook app. You do not register the way a student registers for SAT Weekend, and you typically do not pay the 2026–27 list price of $14 that College Board charges schools and districts (discounts can lower the school price; College Board cites $4 as the lowest extended price after adjustments). Your job on test day is practical: arrive with an acceptable device that will stay on, follow the room rules, and use only the tools College Board allows.

Required items

The 2026–27 PSAT 8/9 Student Guide lists three required items:

1. A fully charged, acceptable testing device with Bluebook already downloaded and exam setup complete if you are testing on a personal device.
2. A pen or pencil for scratch work.
3. A valid photo ID for check-in if you are testing as an Away Student (homeschooled, or testing at a school you do not usually attend). Some states that provide the test may not allow Away Students.

If your school issues a managed Windows laptop, Mac, iPad, or Chromebook, staff often install Bluebook and charge the machine for you. Still look at the battery meter and tell a coordinator if it is not full. If you bring a personal device—one you bring that the school does not provide—exam setup is your responsibility before test day, not a task to invent in the testing room.

College Board's in-school what-to-bring page adds a few setup details that catch people on the morning of the test. If you are approved to use a screen reader or other assistive technology, configure it with Bluebook before test day. Chromebook custom settings must be reapplied every time you open Bluebook. If you are approved for a screen reader or text-to-speech, bring wired, non-Bluetooth headphones or earbuds. Ordinary headphones are otherwise prohibited.

Nice to have

These items are optional, but they prevent small failures from becoming score problems:

• Snacks and drinks, stored under your desk during testing. Eat only during the break, in the place staff send you.
• An acceptable handheld calculator for Math if you prefer it to the embedded Desmos calculator.
• Extra batteries, a device power cord or portable charger, and a backup calculator. Extra batteries and backup gear cannot sit on the desk; you have to ask permission to access them.
• An external mouse (a wired mouse and mouse pad are recommended).
• An external keyboard only if you are testing on a tablet, not a laptop.
• A quiet watch without an alarm. Smartwatches and watches with audible alarms are prohibited.

A bag or backpack is fine for storage, not for reaching into during a module. Epinephrine auto-injectors (for example, EpiPens) may sit in a clear bag under the desk without a separate accommodations request. Other medications and medical devices go through College Board's Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) office.

Devices that work — and devices that do not

Bluebook runs on a Windows or Mac computer, an iPad, or a school-managed Chromebook. You cannot test on a mobile phone. Personal Chromebooks cannot be used. ChromeOS Flex is not supported.

College Board's approved-devices page sets a Windows 11 24H2 minimum (recommended maximum Windows 11 26H2), so Windows 10—and any Windows 11 build older than 24H2—will not run Bluebook. Windows S mode and Windows 11 SE are not supported. Macs need a supported macOS range; Apple often ships a fall upgrade, and College Board tells students not to upgrade until after the test so a new OS does not break Bluebook overnight.

Battery life: the Student Guide says the device should stay on for about 3 hours (roughly three hours). The in-school what-to-bring page says the device should hold a charge for 3–4 hours. Treat both as the same instruction: charge fully, then bring a cord, because staff cannot guarantee an outlet. Students approved for extended time are told to bring a power cord; the testing site should provide an outlet if needed. If the battery dies mid-test, you can plug in, restart, and resume—Bluebook saves work and the timer pauses until you are back in the question, with proctor approval to re-enter after a crash.

Windows tablets and Highlights & Notes. Highlights & Notes lets you mark Reading and Writing passages. A Windows tablet must have an external keyboard for that tool to work. External keyboards are not permitted with laptops. Detachable privacy screens are prohibited. Close every application except Bluebook (and approved assistive technology).

Your device must join the school's Wi-Fi. Internet is required to start the test and to submit answers. Bluebook can keep running through a brief drop, but you still need a connection at the end.

Scratch paper, hats, and electronics

Staff provide scratch paper. Do not bring your own. Testing rules bar papers of any kind other than the school sheet, which staff collect at the end. Write your full name on the school paper as directed—College Board paper-testing scripts tell students to write their full name (commonly in the top right) and not to tear the sheet. The same habits belong on digital test day: name on the paper, no tearing, no taking notes out of the room.

You will have a testing device, but you may not use other personal electronics. Phones, smartwatches, smart glasses, fitness trackers, cameras, and similar devices stay powered off and stored, or collected under the school's process. You may not use a phone during the test or during breaks. Follow staff directions for where the phone goes; failing to store it is a testing-rules violation.

Hats and head coverings are not allowed except when worn for medical or religious reasons. If you wear a hooded garment, the hood must remain down.

Calculator policy for the whole Math section

You may use a calculator on every Math question. There is no calculator-off module. Bluebook includes an embedded Desmos calculator with scientific and graphing modes you can toggle at any point in Math. A handheld calculator is optional. If you bring one, use a model you already know—not a brand-new machine you unpacked the night before.

CAS (computer algebra system) handhelds are prohibited on the SAT Suite, including PSAT 8/9. CAS tools manipulate algebra symbolically (factor, expand, and return exact symbolic answers rather than decimals). Quick checks: the model name includes "CAS," or the device solves and rearranges expressions the way computer-algebra software does. College Board examples of prohibited CAS devices include TI-89 and TI-92 families, TI-Nspire CAS and TI-Nspire CX II CAS, HP Prime, HP 48GII, and Casio ClassPad / Algebra fx models listed in the policy. TI-Nspire models that do not include "CAS" in the name are acceptable.

College Board no longer maintains a list of specifically permitted graphing calculators. Do not hunt for an old allowlist printout. Use the prohibited-features list instead.

Other handheld rules: turn sound off; keep covers under the desk; do not use the calculator to share information or remove questions; large or raised displays may change your seat at the proctor's discretion. If the handheld fails and you have no backup, keep testing with Desmos. Staff may not have spare calculators.

A 4-function calculator is legal and still a poor default. Many four-button machines compute 2 + 3 × 4 as 20 instead of 14. Desmos and most scientific calculators follow order of operations. Practice in Bluebook's test preview or on the Desmos website so the embedded tool is not new on test day. Some Math questions are faster with scratch paper than with any calculator—College Board says so explicitly.

Putting the bag together the night before

Charge the device. Confirm Bluebook is installed and exam setup is done if the device is yours. Pack a pen or pencil, the power cord, optional mouse or tablet keyboard, optional non-CAS calculator plus backup batteries stored off the desk, snacks under-desk ready, and photo ID if you are away. Leave the phone plan to staff. That packing list is the whole test-day kit.