­­About the PSAT

The Preliminary SAT, also known as the PSAT/NMSQT® (National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test), is a practice version of the SAT exam. You can only take the PSAT once per year, and many students take the test in both 10th and 11th grade. If you earn a high score on the PSAT your junior year, you could qualify to receive a National Merit Scholarship—$180 million dollars in merit scholarships are awarded to students each year. The PSAT is 2 hours and 45 minutes long and tests your skills in reading, writing, and math. Unlike the SAT, the highest score possible on the PSAT is 1520. The test is administered by the College Board.

Content covered on the PSAT

Structure of the PSAT

The PSAT is often taken during the school day in place of other classes. The test itself takes about 3 hours, including break time.

The test itself includes four timed sections:

  • EVIDENCE-BASED READING
  • WRITING AND LANGUAGE
  • MATH (NO CALCULATOR)
  • MATH (CALCULATOR ALLOWED)

Understanding PSAT scoring

You will receive a composite score, two section scores, and a variety of subsection scores.

Each correct answer on the PSAT counts as one point toward your raw score. Remember, there’s no penalty for guessing on the PSAT, so answer every multiple-choice question even if you have to guess. Next, your raw score will be converted to your scaled score. This scaled score will range from 160 to 760 for each section, Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Math (there is no essay on the PSAT). Your composite score is the combination of this scaled score from each section, so your composite score will range from 320 to 1520.

You will also be shown two percentile ranks comparing you to other students in your grade. These percentiles show how well you did compared to other test takers. If you scored in the 72nd percentile, for example, you did better than 72% of all test takers. The Nationally Representative Sample percentile score compares your scores to those of typical U.S. students in your grade (whether or not they’ve taken the PSAT), and the User Percentile—National percentile score compares your scores to those of typical U.S. PSAT test takers in your grade..

In addition to your scaled scores, you will receive 3 test scores, 2 cross-test scores, and 7 subscores. The test scores for Reading, Writing and Language, and Math will range from 8 to 38, and these scores are used to calculate your Selection Index for the National Merit Scholarship Program.

The cross-test scores for Analysis in History/Social Studies and Analysis in Science will also range from 8 to 38. Finally, you will receive subscores ranging from 1 to 15 in the following areas: Command of Evidence, Words in Context, Expression of Ideas, Standard English Conventions, Heart of Algebra, Problem Solving and Data Analysis, and Passport to Advanced Math.

You will also see a benchmark for each section and subscore of the PSAT. If you meet or exceed the benchmark, you’re in the green range and on track to be ready for college when you graduate from high school. If you are close to the benchmark but not quite meeting it yet, you are in the yellow range. If you need to strengthen your skills to be ready for college when you graduate, you are in the red range. The College Readiness Benchmarks are designed to help you focus your future studying and work on your weak areas before starting college classes.

What is a good PSAT score?

That depends on where you live. You want to score well on the PSAT because a top score will help qualify you to be a National Merit Commended Scholar or Semifinalist. However, a certain percentage of students are accepted from each state, so the cutoff in your state depends on how others in your grade perform.

Information adapted from https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10.