Understanding your PSAT Results
With the release of the PSAT Results today (Dec 5, 2022 for the western and midwestern regions), we’d like to call attention to some of our old blog posts about the PSAT here (Interpreting Your PSAT Results) and here (How to Compare PSAT Resulsts to a Mock ACT), and also fill in some of the gaps on FAQ’s about the PSAT.
Does my score compare to the same SAT score?
Generally speaking, CollegeBoard, creator of the SAT, strives to make the PSAT score as closely to the SAT as possible. Generally speaking, the scores have aligned pretty well in the past. There was one year in the recent past, shortly after the revamp, where the scores didn’t align well at all, with PSAT scores 30 or so points higher than SAT scores for those of our students who took one a week apart from each other.
There are also some students for whom the scores do not align well at all: high scorers. The max possible score on the PSAT is a 1520. If you are in the 1530+ range, you will not see a comparable SAT score.
Another group of students who don’t have a comparable sitting are those with high levels of anxiety. Besides the variability that we generally see with high anxiety levels, we see some additional on the PSAT. As much as the PSAT is similar to the SAT, students are consistently told that the PSAT is “just practice” and they shouldn’t prepare for it. If this is taken to heart by our high anxiety students, they will treat the SAT different from the PSAT and will likely see different results.
And the third group for whom scores do not align? Those who perform well on easy to medium level questions and passages but poorly on hard level passages and questions. These tend to be the students who are strong students with a bit of a stubborn streak. Picture a student who is stretched by the hardest questions/passages, but knows deep in their heart that they can solve them if given enough time. Do they save the question for later and go on to maximize their score by answering all the other questions correctly first, only working on the hardest questions last IF they have enough time? Probably not. They’re probably the student running out of time at the end because they spent 5 minutes on each very hard question. Whoops. Those hardest questions and passages don’t exist on the PSAT, so they won’t stumble on the PSAT in a way that they likely would on the SAT.
What can I trust / not trust about my score?
As we mentioned above, unless you’re in one of those three groups above, it’s likely that your score itself is trustworthy compared to a regular SAT score. It can generally be used to compare to a mock ACT to see which score is higher and by how much. If you want to be safe, you can always take a mock SAT as well, but you can likely start with the PSAT score to see if it’s even worth spending the time to do it. Note: Concordance charts available here.
What we haven’t been able to historically trust, however, is the percentile scores. Every year, I get multiple questions or statements about how their student scored in the 92nd percentile on the PSAT, so they should be all set, right? Wrong. The percentiles, year after year, have been seemingly inflated. It may be the case that the PSAT is not traditionally prepared for as thoroughly as the SAT is, hence the skew, but I suspect it has to do with sampling issues and that CollegeBoard doesn’t want to fix the problem because it makes students more inclined to choose to take the SAT rather than the ACT. I could be wrong - this is all just a hunch - but the percentiles always seem to skew higher than reality and what you’d score on the SAT or ACT if you took it the day after you took the PSAT.
Why are there two sets of scores for the PSAT?
There is first the traditional score that looks like an SAT score, that’s out of 1520 instead of 1600. This is composed of your two individual section scores of Reading/Writing and Math, each out of 760. This is at the top of the report and tends to be the more memorable score, as it’s in a scale(-ish) that we are already familiar with.
The second score on the next page of the report is the National Merit Scholarship Corporation Index. This is composed of your 3 Test Scores (at the bottom of the first page) all ranging from 8 to 38. This score determines if you qualify for the National Merit Scholarship. The significance here is that Writing is split out as an entirely separate section - it is the equivalent of half of half of your “PSAT Score” aka a quarter of the score, but a full third of your NMSC score.
What is the significance of the National Merit Scholarship?
The National Merit Scholarship is run on a state-by-state level. Traditionally, California has been one of the highest scoring states (though never the highest - that usually lands on either Massachusetts or New Jersey) for the cutoff. Last year’s cutoff in the state of California was 221, which is an average section score of 36.8 out of 38, or two 37s and a 36.5 in the Math. Very high.
The NMS Commended cutoff is done on a national level and tends to be in the 207-212 range. Read more about the datasets here at Compass’ blog.
Closing Thoughts
The PSAT is a good start for our test prep journey, whether you prepared for it or took it blind. It gives us an idea what it’s like to take a test in a classroom with other students taking the same test, and it gives us our standardized results. If it means you have more work to do in order to earn a score you would be proud to submit, it’s time to get to work. If you think you might want to take a mock SAT to confirm that your score would be similar on the real thing before getting an official score, great. If you hated the score and hated the test, but can see the value in working on these fundamental skills, consider taking a mock ACT to see if you’d like to prepare for that exam instead. There are many differences, but one of them is that the questions are more straightforward.
Any questions? Please let us know. We’ll do our best to get back to you ASAP and with the best information possible.
