Why Take the PSAT?
The PSAT taken in the 11th grade puts students in the running for two programs:
1. National Merit Scholarship Program
The PSAT/NMSQT is the qualifying test for entry to the National Merit® Scholarship Program, an academic competition for recognition and scholarships. National Merit winners are generally the top 2% of the NATIONAL test takers so for 98% of students it is a practice test to see how they will hypothetically perform on the SAT. The scores will not be sent to colleges but they may show up on the student’s high school transcripts that are sent along with the college applications.
2. Student Search Service
When students take the PSAT/NMSQT and say “yes” to the free Student Search Service®, it can help scholarship providers find them. If they qualify, they’ll be invited to apply for scholarships in the fall of junior year.
The PSAT Exam
The PSAT/NMSQT measures the knowledge and skills students have developed in reading, writing, language, and math. This test is not about memorizing words and facts; it focuses on what students have already learned in school and what they will need to succeed in college.
The PSAT/NMSQT has three tests: the Reading Test, the Writing and Language Test, and the Math Test:
Reading 60 minutes 47 questions
Writing and Language 35 minutes 44 questions
Math 70 minutes 48 questions
Top 10 PSAT Tips
-
There is no penalty for guessing! Students earn points for the questions answered correctly. There’s no advantage to leaving any question blank.
-
Students should not dwell too long on any one question. They should skip it and come back to it at the end of that timed period or take the best educated guess and move on.
-
The overall goal is to finish each section – this will get more overall points than getting only ¾ of the questions answered in each section.
-
Go to collegeboard.org for sample questions, answer explanations, and a full-length practice test.
-
The PSAT Math questions focus on four areas: heart of algebra; problem solving and data analysis; passport to advanced math, and additional topics in math, including limited geometry, trigonometry, and pre-calculus. Use the practice test to identify which math section(s) are the weakness then continue to drill on those problems.
-
Students do not have to memorize math formulas. Commonly used formulas are provided with the test directions at the beginning of each math section. Other formulas that are needed are provided with the test questions themselves. It’s up to students to decide which formula is appropriate to use so knowing how to apply these basic formulas is key:
-
Circle Sector Formulas
-
Vertex Formulas for Parabola
-
The formulas at the beginning of each math section in the PSAT practice guide
-
Units and Rate Conversions
-
-
With some math problems, it may be useful to draw a sketch or diagram of the given information. Students may use the test booklet as scratch paper to configure their answers.
-
For the reading and writing sections, when students see a passage, they should skip ahead to the questions then go back to the passage and find the key words the questions are looking for. Students will end up reading sections of the passage several times as they answer the questions. They do not need to spend time initially reading the passage and then rereading it again several more times – this will help increase a student’s ability to finish all of the questions in this section on time.
-
For the grammar section the most commonly missed questions are on punctuation so students should review when and where to correctly use:
-
Commas
-
Colons
-
Semicolons
-
Dashes
-
-
Students should set aside time to practice, practice, practice in order to increase their speed on test day. Plus, the more questions students’ practice, the more likely they are to see some of the exact same questions on the actual exam.
