Understanding PSAT Scores: Your Guide to Interpretation and Next Steps

1. PSAT Scores – Now What? Mariana Paredes The Princeton Review Saint Bonaventure High School January 22nd 2009

2. What is the PSAT? The PSAT serves two roles. • National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test • A competition for both recognition and scholarship • Commended scholar versus semi-finalist

3. What is the PSAT? The PSAT serves two roles. • Practice for the SAT • The PSAT is written by the makers of the SAT • A window to the testing soul

4. What’s on the PSAT? What does the PSAT measure? • They say: • Critical reading skills • Extracting information from dense passages and filling in missing bits from sentences • Math skills • Algebra 1, basic geometry and arithmetic • Writing skills • Grammar

5. What’s on the PSAT? What does the PSAT measure? • The Princeton Review says: • Accuracy over speed • Performance under time constraints • Bubble skill, not accumulated knowledge

6. The PSAT vs. the SAT How does the SAT compare to the PSAT? • The SAT is: • More mathematically advanced • Different in regards to the writing section, containing an essay • Considerably longer

7. How’s it scored? • Your raw score is determined as follows: • Each correct response: 1 point • Each blank response: 0 points • Each incorrect response: • On a multiple choice question: -¼ point • On a student-produced response: 0 points • This raw score is then scaled and converted into a score between 20 and 80 for each of the three sections – math, critical reading and writing skills

8. So what’s this?

9. It’s a diagnostic report Your Score Report Gives You: • Your scores • The average scores for juniors are: • 48 in critical reading • 49 in math • 49 in writing skills

10. The average scores for sophomores are: • 45 in verbal • 46 in math • 46 in writing skills

11. It’s a diagnostic report Your Score Report Gives You: • A selection index- used for National Merit • Ranges • An estimation of the point spread you would be expected to fall between should you take retake the test

12. It’s a diagnostic report Your Score Report Gives You: • Percentiles • Percentiles help you compare your performance on the PSAT to the performance of similar students. • They tell you which percentage of students you’ve scored above. • If you’re a junior, you’re compared to other juniors • If you are a non-junior, you are compared to other non-juniors.

13. It’s a diagnostic report Your Score Report Gives You: • An estimated SAT score • SAT scores range from 200 to 800 per section. • A 52 is roughly to a 520 on the SAT.

14. It’s a diagnostic report Your Score Report Gives You: • The ability to review your test • The score report displays the correct answer, your answer, and the level of difficulty for each question • The score report also provides you with a computer-analyzed diagnosis of patterns of mistakes

15. So what do you do? • Did I answer all of the easy questions? • Personal Order of Difficulty

16. So what do you do? • Did I run out of time? • Using your time effectively • The Princeton Review 67% rule

17. Your Resources • The Princeton Review Online • The Best 361 • Counselor-O-Matic • Career Quiz • College Applications • www.princetonreview.com

18. Your Resources • College Board Quickstart • www.collegeboard.com • Access code • Parent section for scholarships and loans • Student section with college planning and selection tools

19. Your Resources • National Merit • www.nationalmerit.org • Detailed scholarship information

20. Your Resources • Bob Hahn • bhahn@saintbonaventure.com • (805) 648-6836 x 122 • Natalie Lajoie • nlajoie@saintbonaventure.com • (805) 648-6836 x 127 • Mariana Paredes • Info.SB@review.com • (805) 685-2221 • www.princetonreview.com