An overview of the PSAT
PSAT/NMSQT stands for Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. In addition to screening candidates for the National Merit Scholarship Program (for juniors), it's great practice for the SAT, which contains the same types of questions. Most students take the test during October of their junior year in high school, though some students elect to take a practice run during sophomore year. (Which makes it a practice, practice PSAT/NMSQT!)
Test topics include Critical Reading, Math, and Writing. All the while you have been in school, you have been working on these skills and doing a form of PSAT prep. Here is a great chance to show what you have learned.
The two Critical Reading sections include reading comprehension questions about full-length and paragraph-length passages. They also include sentence completions.
The Writing section includes multiple-choice questions on grammar, usage, word choice, and organization. Unlike on the SAT, there's no essay, but schools are provided with a practice essay to help you prepare.
The Math test also has two sections. This test has both multiple-choice questions and grid-in questions. The grid-in questions require you to generate your own response rather than choosing from among several options. PSAT topics in Math include: numbers and operations; algebra and functions; geometry and measurement; and statistics, probability, and data analysis. Math topics that most first-semester juniors have not yet covered are excluded from the test.
PSAT test dates are limited
There are two PSAT test dates each year in October. Each high school administers the test on only one of the two dates that are established each year. You have to take the test on the date that is available to you. The test dates for 2011 were Wednesday, October 12, and Saturday, October 15, and the times for 2012 are likely to be similar.
You can take the PSAT at a location near you
You must take the PSAT/NMSQT at a high school, either the school you attend or one in your community. Talk to your school counselor to sign up.
Test structure of the PSAT
| Critical Reading |
| Question Type |
Number of Questions |
| Sentence completions |
13 |
| Passage-based reading |
35 |
| Time Allotted: Two 25-minute sections. Total: 50 minutes |
| Writing |
| Question Type |
Number of Questions |
|
Identifying sentence errors
|
14 |
|
Improving sentences
|
20 |
| Improving paragraphs |
5 |
| Time Allotted: One 30-minute section. Total: 30 minutes |
| Math |
| Question Type |
Number of Questions |
| Multiple-choice |
28 |
| Grid-ins |
10 |
| Time Allotted: Two 25-minute sections. Total: 50 minutes |
A brief introduction to your PSAT score
PSAT scores are sent out in December. Your PSAT score report will contain three types of scores. One set of numbers, each ranging from 20 to 80, will be your overall scores on the Critical Reading, Mathematics, and Writing sections. (Corresponding sections on the SAT are scored on a scale of 200 to 800.) Another number on your report will be your Selection Index, the score that determines your eligibility for the programs offered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Ranging from 60 to 240, this number will be the total (CR + M + W) of your scores in the three subject areas of the PSAT test. The final portion of your PSAT score report will be your national percentile ranking. That number helps you view yourself relative to all the other students in your grade who took the test.