Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums High School What basic prep for a practice PSAT (new version)?

My DS15, a H.S. sophomore, will be taking a practice PSAT in about a month at his High School. According to his school this will be in the "new" overhauled PSAT he will take next year. College board will be releasing 'practice' tests in time and sample questions are now available on there web-site. I don't really understand the reason but our school doesn't allow anyone but juniors to take the official PSAT, but I guess that is OK since it doesn't really need to be official.

My son has not yet taken any of the SAT/ACT or PSAT and while I've always assumed that he is likely to do well on these type of test without much prep. (Except for the writing portion). I do want him to take it this time without much prep. But there are some "SAT taking skills" that I assume would be useful to go over before the test. Although what used to be the most critical of them, when to guess or not, is no longer relevant.

Any suggestions or how much to prep for a first time taking this type of test? I'm assuming there isn't enough time for there to be much material except on the college board web-site at this time.

This is a practice test, so the only preparation I would do is to take a sample test once or twice at the dining room table. You can find them in Kaplan PSAT books at the library, and your school probably has them, too. (My son found an error in his Kaplan SAT prep test last year, so if your son gets an answer wrong, check the explanation which might be different than the answer key. Ugh.)

DS15 did great on the ACT (3 times, no writing) so I was surprised his SAT (through NUMATS) was not nearly as good; in fact, middle of the road. I asked about that here, and the answers were that it's a vey different kind of test from the ACT.

I've heard several time on this board that the ACT was better for their child and that surprised me. I always assumed that DS would do better on the SAT, he does test very well particular on the more 'abstract' stuff. My older daughter (not gifted) only took the ACT, she never took the PSAT since I saw no reason. She isn't gifted and doesn't test well so why take a test that's prime reason for taking these days is for national merit admission. On the other hand I always figured DS would within range of getting national merit level scores (although I might be wrong) therefore I do want him to take it and take it seriously.

Our school offers a SAT/ACT practice test in the spring that is helpful for seeing what test is best. I'm not sure how the changes to the SAT are going to affect what test will be better. I have been considering having my son take the SAT next fall in the old format.

My guess is that the writing part of the ACT or SAT will be hit or miss for him. He isn't good at deciding quickly what to write to a prompt. I'm going to have to decide if we want to request extra time through his 504 but that's unnecessary for the PSAT. Once he has an idea he writes quickly and quite well.

Actually, a good result on the PSAT sets you up for national merit scholar and merit-based financial aid in college. It may be intended to be a practice test, but the possibility if the merit scholar thing means I wouldn't hesitate to prep for it. (and I'm super anti-testing)

Yes but that is ONLY when you take it in the fall of your junior year. This is a PRACTICE test for a Practice test (PSAT). Seems kind of silly but as you point out there are a lot of stakes in this particular test. And I know of many schools that pay for all of their kids to take the PSAT as both 9th & 10th graders even though it doesn't count until junior year. Thus I want him to go into this one without a lot of prep but not zero. In general I'm not into overly testing.. but the first step to see how much prep he needs for next fall will be this test.

The reason why this one is "practice" is because the only one that COUNTS is the one he takes his Junior year anyway. That's why the sophomore test is often called the "practice" PSAT by many schools, even if students are taking the same test in a group of mixed sophomores and juniors.

I'd prep it somewhat-- at the very least, look at the practice test and see what it tells you in terms of his skill with particular types of questions, particular formatting things, etc.

If you are going to ask for extended time, be sure to ask for it early. It seems that the first response is usually a denial, and you need to advocate for it...like everything else.

As your son is on a 504, if the school applies for extended time, using the College Board dashboard, the likelihood of approval is much higher, especially for extended time.

We won't ask for extra time for this "practice" test. It will give us a good idea how he does without any such request and give us time to do so. I'm not likely to ask for a time extension for the PSAT. The writing part of the SAT is where I'm worried that time could affect things. I didn't request extra time for the CASHEE, nor does he ever need it for the state testing.

Do they give extra time for the PSAT? What about the SAT II? I was considering having my son take the Math2 & Chemistry test this spring.

If you qualify for accommodations via College Board, that's that-- it will apply to ANY test of theirs that he takes.

Allow 12-18 weeks. Yes, really.