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Understanding YourPSAT/NMSQT ScoresKatie Rose-DeLaet, CommunicationsCoordinator

Your Score ReportWhat it tells you about your college prep readiness2

What’s in your report:The front page gives you theinformation you’ll need toaccess your full score reportand any supplementarymaterial online.Source: Understanding Your PSAT/NMSQT Scores 2020-2021. The College Board.

What’s in your report: Total ScoreYour total score is out of a possible1520 points, and your percentile isbased on a sample study of students.If you’re a 11th-grader, it’s an11th-grade study. If you’re a 10th- or9th-grader, it’s against 10th graders.The College Board predicts that student scores on thePSAT are very indicative of what they’d score on the SAT.Source: Understanding Your PSAT/NMSQT Scores 2020-2021. The College Board.

What’s in your report: EBRW scoreYour EBRW (Evidence-BasedReading and Writing) score comesfrom the first two sections of thetest: Reading and Writing.Icons under your score show the benchmark and howyou measure up.Source: Understanding Your PSAT/NMSQT Scores 2020-2021. The College Board.

What’s in your report: Math scoreYour math score comes from the twomath sections: No Calculator andCalculator. You’ll also get a benchmarknotification for this section. Benchmarkscome from the College Board’s generalcollege research and don’t indicate astudent’s chance at a specific college.Source: Understanding Your PSAT/NMSQT Scores 2020-2021. The College Board.

What’s in your report: Test scoresYour test scores are one stepback from your total scores and one step forward fromyour raw score. They’re usedto calculate your NationalMerit Selection Index.Source: Understanding Your PSAT/NMSQT Scores 2020-2021. The College Board.

The PSAT and National Merit (NMSQT)In 11th grade, students who take the PSAT are eligible for National Meritrecognition, which can bring in scholarship money and an edge in collegeadmissions.If you’re a sophomore or freshman, you’re not eligible yet, but you will be in yourjunior year!Source: National Merit Annual Report, 20178

The National Merit Selection ProcessRoughly 16,500 of the topPSAT-performing studentsare selected as NMSQTSemi-finalists.Of those, around 15,500 completethe additional steps to beconsidered Finalists.Finally, around 8,800 areselected as Merit Scholars andreceive recognition and awards.Although the Merit Scholars only make up 0.05% of students taking the NMSQT,Finalists and even Semi-finalists can use their NMSQT status to earn scholarships fromprivate organizations and universities.Source: National Merit Annual Report, 20179

Your NMSC Selection IndexYour NMSC selection index determines whether you’ll beselected as a Commended Student or Semi-Finalist.Recognized students will be informed in September oftheir senior year.We don’t know what the cutoff will be this year for students inGeorgia; it depends on the scores of the current juniors who tookthe test (either in October or January) and that number hasn’tbeen released. It’s hovered around 220 for the past few years inGA.Source: Understanding Your PSAT/NMSQT Scores 2020-2021. The College Board.

What’s in your report: Question-Level FeedbackFor January administrations of the PSAT, youwon’t get to see the specific questions and theiranswers; you can only see whether you got thequestions right or wrong.However, you still have access to Khan Academyand additional resources on your online account.Source: Understanding Your PSAT/NMSQT Scores 2020-2021. The College Board.

Looking for Patterns in the Test Report: Time managementIf your accuracy starts to dip towards the end of the test, itmeans one of two things: Time management issues Mental fatigue (this is particularly prevalent in the Reading section,since it is so long)Both can be helped with steady practice!

Looking for patterns in the test report: EBRW-specificLarge error blocks in Reading/Writing mightindicate a lack of interest or confidence in contentarea. Targeted practice will help!The PSAT and SAT are reading-centric tests; you probablyencountered at least one set of paired passages and one verychallenging social sciences passages.It’s also worth noting that the reading on the ACTis faster-paced, but more consistent in its difficultylevel (and the passages are shorter).

Looking for patterns in the test report: Math-centricGenerally speaking, theMath (No-Calculator)section requires students todo long-form multiplicationand division and deal withexponents, radicals, andfactoring by hand. If youraccuracy rate was low, it’sworth checking over whatyou wrote down.The Calculator-enabled Mathsection is all about algebraicmodeling and functions! This is aword-problem-heavy section.Look at the difficulty level of theproblems you missed - if they’remostly 1- or 2- block questions,it’s likely that you’re not readingcarefully enough.

Digging Deeper: PSAT Math Content AreasThe College Board groups the PSAT Math content areas into three main categories:1Heart ofAlgebrasolving functions, linearequations and inequalities;graphing linear functions,equations and inequalities;solving systems of linearequations and inequalities;modeling linear relationships;linear word problems23Passport toAdvanced MathProblem Solving andData Analysisquadratic, radical andexponential equations and wordproblems; polynomials;factoring; non-linear functionsand graphs; modelingexponential relationshipsratios, proportions andpercents; unit conversion;tables, scatterplots, and graphs;linear and exponential growthand decay; inferring from data;center, spread and share of datasets; other introductory statisticsconcepts15

Digging Deeper: PSAT Math Content AreasIn addition to those three big areas, thePSAT features a few questions each on:Geometryarea, volume, perimeter, angles,polygons. Most of these are inword problem format.You’ll get a referenceTrigonometryguide for formulas!right triangles, SOH-CAH-TOA16

The PSAT and College AdmissionsHow the PSAT fits in17

How important is the PSAT?For most students, the PSAT scores have no direct impact on theircollege admissions process. Colleges never receive students’ PSATscores, and National Merit affects a tiny percentage of students.However, the PSAT is a great practice run for the SAT and cantell you a lot about how you would perform on that test.The PSAT was written to pair with the SAT; although theSAT is longer and more difficult, PSAT scores can give ageneral* sense of a student’s potential SAT score.Vertical scaling falls apart at the high end of the scoring curve, so it’s lessuseful in predicting a high-scorer’s SAT score.

Vertical Scaling of PSAT and SAT}400–1600}}350–1520240–1440 PSAT 8PSAT 9PSAT 10PSATNMSQTAdditionalContent SATAs content gets harder, the possible point total increases.19

PSAT/SAT and ACT are more similar than ever More advancedreading More math wordproblems Reading skills English andGrammar skills Science graphreading andinterpretation Algebra, stats,some geometry More advancedscience More advancedmath

Using the PSAT to decide between SAT and ACT Take a practice ACT and use your PSAT scores for a baseline comparison. If you’rea high scorer, you may want to do a practice SAT as well. By converting ACT scores to the SAT/PSAT scale, you can compare apples toapples:If your scores are differentIf your scores are withinby 70 SAT points or60 SAT points of eachmore, that means youother, then you are withinhave a significant strengththe margin of error forin one test. Prep for theeach test. Choose the onehigher-scoring test.you’d like to focus on.

Next StepsThe SAT, ACT, and Admissions in the Time of COVID22

The admissions processAcademic Index:Academic Index:Quantitative componentsQualitative componentsH.S. GPA(in the contextof ScheduleStrength andAcademic Strengthof School)SATACTSATSubjectTestsHOW will they read your stDepth)The packaging of the application—Is therea cohesive story?23

COVID-19 has made college admissions testing challengingDuring the spring, both the SAT and ACT were cancelled due to virus outbreaksworldwide.In the fall, testing resumed, but with much more limitedseating and the frequent possibility of testing sitecancellations.This continues into the spring and summer - so if you planto test, make sure you have multiple test dates lined upto hedge against possible cancellations.

The College Board dropped offerings due to COVID-19The College Board announced in January that it will bedropping the optional essay from the SAT after June2021.The College Board ended its SAT Subject Test programin January (they will be offered internationally untilJune).

The pandemic broadened test-optional admissionsAccording to the ACT, approximately 50% of 4-yr collegeswere already test-optional or flexible in some way. Anadditional 30% dropped testing requirements as a result mmaryfindings-externaluse.pdf

Cornell clarifies: test-optional means higher-scrutiny“For those who can’t plan for, take, and submit exams, Cornell readerswill consider with increased scrutiny their other application documents,looking for different evidence of excellent academic preparation.” Theseinclude: Rigor and GPACommitment to pursuing other learning experiencesOther testingEssaysCounselor and teacher applicants

Test-optional is here to stay, but not test-blind in most casesThe same ACT study found that most admissionsofficers do not believe their schools will reinstateACT/SAT requirements, but they also don’t think theirschools will do away with testing altogether.Almost 70% of surveyed admissions officers said that testingresults “are too useful to abandon altogether.”

Today the SAT and ACT are interchangeableColleges will accept either test without prejudice.29

Structurally, the two tests appear nearly identical3:00{:50{Writing & LanguageEnglishMathMath—No CalculatorReadingMath—CalculatorScienceEssay (optional)*Testing time: 3:50Essay (optional){Reading}2:55:40Testing time: 3:35*Offered until June 202130

Overall, 75-80% of the test content overlaps More advancedreading More math wordproblems Reading skills English andGrammar skills Science graphreading andinterpretation Algebra, stats,some geometry More advancedscience More advancedmath

The amount of time per question is a profound difference.SectionACTSAT% 60.084.240%Science52.5N/AN/AThe SAT has a more forgiving timing structure, which can benefit somestudents, but in many ways it’s also a more complicated test.32

How to register for the SAT and ACTTo register for the SAT, log on tohttp://www.collegeboard.org andclick “Register for the SAT.” Youwill have to create aCollegeBoard account if you donot already have one.To register for the ACT, log on tohttp://www.act.org and click“Register Now for the ACT.” Youwill have to create an ACT accountif you do not already have one.33

How to secure accommodationsIf your student needs accommodations for either the SAT or ACT, you must work with yourstudent’s school guidance counselor or disabilities coordinator to submit the correctpaperwork.If your student plans to take the SAT multiple times with accommodations,you only have to go through the process once—the accommodations followyour student through any SAT, AP exam or PSAT.However, you have to re-apply for accommodations for every ACTadministration your student plans to sit for. Be aware that it can take sometime to process, and don’t leave registration until the last minute!Colleges cannot see when a student has taken a test withaccommodations—it’s the law!34

Connect with us on social ring@applerouth@applerouthWe’ll keep you up-to-date on what’s happening atApplerouth and in the world of college admission testing!

On April 24th and 25th, we’ll be offering online proctored practice SAT and ACT tests for free! Afterwards, studentswill get detailed score breakdowns, access to strategy sessions, and help with creating a custom study plan.Secure your spot at www.applerouth.com/testdriveapplerouth36