Psat

[CoogansBluff]

I assume lots of the high school DD's here got PSAT scores back today or recently. Trying to figure out what they mean.

Isn't the percentile score the most telling number? For example, say you score 1100. That might be 50th percentile for an 11th grader but 95th percentile for an 8th grader.

So wouldn't the best projection be to take the percentile on the PSAT and see what that same percentile is for SAT-takers?

 

[BobInMadison]

I am really annoyed. DD #2 took the PSAT as a sophomore, and the counselors at her school didn't show her how to set up her account. So she has to wait up to 20 days for it to come in the mail.

I hope she did well. I just won't know for a while.

 

[grcsftbll]

Of course, when we took these things everyone had to wait on the mail. Kids today have it so easy

 

[Sweet Lou]

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.

 

[29dad]

Test Masters just released their preliminary projections for state cutoffs.

UPDATE: What PSAT Scores Make the Cut for National Merit in 2016?

 

[CoogansBluff]

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.'

 

[Sweet Lou]

I know they are revamping the SAT so I'm not sure what the correlation will be with the new SAT.
In the past PSAT scores and SAT score (percentile and raw) seemed highly correlated with the exception that the SAT had an added writing section.

If your kid got 700 math score on the PSAT chances are pretty good he/she would get a 700 +/- 40 points on the real SAT.

If your kid didn't do as well as you'd hoped, I suggest an SAT prep class which did a very little for my son but raised my daughters PSAT to SAT score substantially. She's a very smart kid just doesn't take standardized test well.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

Test Masters just released their preliminary projections for state cutoffs.

UPDATE: What PSAT Scores Make the Cut for National Merit in 2016?

Highest cutoffs are CA, DC, MA and NJ. Lowest are ND, SD, WV and WY.

 

[dinogirl]

This fall was the first administration of the new PSAT. This March will mark the first administration of the new SAT. While in theory, the logic of the percentiles following each other makes sense and pretty much ran true to form for the old SAT, no one has any data for the new SAT, so it is hard to say if this will continue to be the case. Frankly, it will be a few years before we have enough data to make any generalizations. In the short term, the SAT will likely be taken slightly less seriously for admissions for this reason.

Knowing in depth the changes to the PSAT and SAT, I suspect you will see greater improvement than in the past, particularly in the math. The new tests have a lot more content, including content often taught during one's junior year. While it used to be the case that nearly everyone was done learning the content of the SAT by sophomore year, now I am seeing juniors who are just now learning the material they'll need for the March test. So it stands to reason that if your student is on a typical track, she might see a major jump in scores, even in the course of a few months. Since not everyone is on the same track, the percentiles won't necessarily reflect all of this.

 

[InsidePitch]

In the short term, the SAT will likely be taken slightly less seriously for admissions for this reason.

A lot of schools we have looked at only showed the ACT scores and how they related to merit money. So maybe it's stature will be less.