Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment PSAT 9th

The PSAT is similar to the SAT, just fewer questions. My older two took the 2400 format SAT & PSAT, and you could get a good idea of how they would do on the SAT by looking at their PSAT scores. (Now the College Board has the wacky 1520 limit on the PSAT vs 1600 on the SAT, so it is a little more difficult to compare.)

While the PSAT/SAT may be easy for some, the College Board has always tried to make the tests such that the average score on each section will be around 500. I think that the current SAT format average score is about 1060.

The good news is, if your daughter can hit a perfect or near perfect score, that she will be NMSF when she takes the PSAT junior year. As a US citizen living abroad, she still qualifies for NMSQT. The citizen living abroad cutoff PSAT score is always very high, so scoring well as a freshman bodes well for junior year.

Thanks for the info. So you still have to take it in junior year. Taking it already doesn't count? Annoying.

The PSAT 8/9, PSAT10/NMSQT, and SAT are on the same scaling, which is why there is a lower ceiling on the PSAT/NMSQT (and even lower on the 8/9). The idea is that the PSAT scores estimate the scores you would get if you took the SAT at that same time, and thus make it simpler to track progress across tests.

National Merit Scholarships are based on 11th grade PSAT, so you only have to take them if you're interested in the NM program. PSATs don't count at all for college, so NMS is really the only reason to take them. (I suppose taking a standardized test under actual conditions, but not counting, is a benefit).

SAT's are generally accepted for 5 years. I'm in the odd position of having DD14 take the PSAT the next 2 years but possibly not taking the SAT again, after her 8th grade score.

It was my understanding that most colleges want an SAT score taken more recently than the 8th grade. I believe they desire one in the last two to three years but not sure, perhaps others can comment.

I also believe that if you make NMSF that you must confirm your score by taking another SAT in order to get NMF?

I don’t know what colleges want, but the second part of the above comment is correct. For national merit consideration, you need to have confirming SAT scores within a certain time frame (I think is is roughly a year before the PSAT was taken, but can’t remenber exactly) up until something like the fall of senior year. They also recently changed the rules, so that kids can use an ACT score for confirmation instead of SAT, but I don’t know details of the time frame (assume it’s similar).

In conversations with HS guidance counselors, posts on College Confidential regarding admissions, and chats with a few college, no one has expressed this requirement. None of the college admission requirements sites I checked has such a constraint.

NMSQT does look to have a requirement for a supporting SAT score for award - some time between October 10th grade and December 12th grade.

The only college I can think of that specifically states that test scores must be from junior or senior year is CMU. And I've heard stories that they have accepted scores from 10th grade, but have no confirmation.

NMSQT does require a confirming score, but going forward (HS Class of 2020), I believe they will accept an ACT score. No one knows what ACT confirming score will be required, but likely will be the equivalent of the confirming SAT score. I don't know what the confirming score is for the new SAT, but for the old one, it was just a bit below the Commended score - so nothing difficult if you already hit the right PSAT score.

I finally remembered my password here! Hallo old friends! I have a question. How do you know if you are taking PSAT10 or PSAT11? Just curious, as it probably doesn't matter much. My 10th-grade son's school offers PSAT for 11th graders, but they said if they had room, 10th graders could come and take the test, so I thought he was taking the same test as the 11th graders?

OMG blast from the past! St pauli girl ... welcome back!