Psat

Since the PSAT and SAT have been revamped, the percentile scores from last year to this year may not be the same. This article has some very interesting information on how the percentile score of this year's PSAT may be inflated since it ranks the test taker's score against all students in the grade (including students who did not take the test and would have presumably scored lower), rather than the actual students who took the test (as has been done in previous years). The cutoffs for the National Merit scholarships will also change compared to last year since not only did the scale for the test change, but also how the percentiles are calculated.

CoogansBluff said:

Thanks, folks.

When I say what they 'mean,' I'm talking about what SL said on #1 - ''it gives you a general feeling for how your kid will do on the real SAT.''

Wouldn't the percentile score be the most significant? Rather than saying, 'I made 1100 on the PSAT, so that's about what I'd make on the SAT,' I would think it better to say 'I made 60th percentile on the PSAT, so I should compare that to 60th percentile of the SAT.'

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Rare is the student who talks in percentiles. The answer to your question is "yes, sort of, and no".

But as Sweet Lou states, the scores are really only important if you're in that top tier or are desiring to get there.

If your kid is in the top you may speak in percentiles. From there it becomes 99.xx to determine the ranking. Do you go to Brown or MIT?

DS' junior year PSAT was a real blow to the gut.
Every state has a different cutoff, and the cutoff changes every year.
Wisconsin has a higher cutoff than most states.
When DS got his PSAT score, it was higher than the cutoff had been for the past few years in Wisconsin. The school counselor said he was almost certain to make the cut.
That year the cutoff was several points higher than it had ever been for many years. DS missed by one point.
I really wish he had studied for the test.

Edit to add: DS actually did worse than expected on the SAT based on his PSAT score, so maybe it was just a fluke good score that was almost good enough.

Sweet Lou said:

The PSAT is important for 2 things -

1 - it gives you a general feeling for how your kid will do on the real SAT
2 - if you are in the top 1% (or top 1/2% i forget which) you get in the pool for National Merit Scholarship which is actual REAL money at a LOT of schools. In some cases full ride. Others half ride and others a nominal amount. DS was a National Merit Scholar.

Otherwise PSAT scores are pretty much meaningless.

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Yep, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, LOL, I got a National Merit Scholarship, and it all starts with the PSAT. If you don't take the PSAT and get into the "pool" you are out of the running for a National Merit even if you ace the SATs. How is everyone? I sure miss DFP!