By mid-November, any student who took any version of the PSAT should have their scores back. But then what? The PSAT has no bearing on college admissions. In fact, colleges don’t ever see your scores. That doesn’t mean, however, that you cannot glean valuable information from your score report.
This graphic from College Board’s comprehensive PSAT/NMSQT Understanding Scores for Students and Families document features the three most salient data points from the PSAT score report:
- Total score on the 320-1520 scale (360-760 Reading and Writing + 360-760 Math)
- RW and M section scores and percentile ranks
- A basic Knowledge and Skills analysis based on SAT content domains
All of this information is valuable, especially if you know how to read percentiles in the context of standardized tests. The total score can be trusted as a fair indicator of how a tester might score on the SAT, assuming no other preparation apart from taking the PSAT–while the PSAT does leave out certain higher level math topics, the test still presents the same number of questions in the same amount of time as the SAT.
The Knowledge and Skills analysis is famously superficial and particularly unhelpful for high scorers. That said, a test takers with a personal College Board student account (which you’ll need to take the SAT) can get additional insights into PSAT performance on the online student scores portal at studentscores.collegeboard.org. Clicking View skills and example questions in the next score band will take you to the Skills Insight tool. From there, you can learn more about the specific skills being tested and see example questions that you would need to be able to answer to reach the next performance score band. Motivated students could use this information as a launching point to explore the full Bluebook SAT Question Bank.
The PSAT score report includes all kind of additional data, two of which matter to students at different points in the academic continuum. Low scorers with college aspirations should pay close attention to how their section scores align with College and Career Readiness Benchmarks. The current PSAT benchmarks for 11th graders are a score of 460+ in Reading and Writing and 510+ in Math, which indicates college readiness. Scoring below that suggests that a test taker might struggle with or even fail introductory college classes.
Test takers who score exceptionally high, on the other hand, should pay attention to their NMSC Selection Index Score. This 48-228 score is calculated by adding twice the RW score to the M score and diving by 10, which doesn’t sound easy or logical but has been the standard for ages. The Selection Index determines who qualifies for any level of National Merit Scholarship recognition, which can provide a little bit of money and a lot of prestige. National Merit aspirants should aim to score in the 99th percentile, as any less will fail to make the cut in most states.
Taking the PSAT can feel like a bother, especially when you know colleges don’t care about your scores. However, consider the PSAT a test for your personal benefit: if you haven’t already begun your college testing journey, the PSAT can tell you where you currently stand and–more importantly–what you might need to do to reach your ultimate goals.
Mike Bergin