My S18 went up 230 points from soph PSAT(1280) to junior SAT (1510). His test prep was a 6 week class this past fall where they met twice a week for two hours (once after school on weekday and then on Saturday). He also did 5-6 PSAT practice tests, which helped his confidence as he saw his scores steadily increase.
@citymama9 , my kid really had no time or energy for test prep which is why we settled on a 1x/week weekend afternoon class. I figured that in the end, it’d be 3 hours/week more than he’d have spent on his own. The value was more strategic than content based.
If he’d wanted to do more serious prep, summer would have been the time, I think.
My son took PSAT as a 10th grader and just got his 11th grade results. He went up 100pts.
My daughter went from 1350 (no prep) to 1470 (ACT prep but not PSAT prep). Good luck!
My daughter’s SAT went up
over 200 points between Oct. PSAT and May SAT. She just studied more. Also, kids are all too aware that the “P” stands for Practice. I just think you are causing your child needless anxiety by making a 10th grader take the PSAT exam when there are plenty of more important things they can be spending their time on!
@londondad I did not make my daughter take the PSAT. Her HS requires that every single freshman, sophomore and junior takes it. We had no choice.
^ Yikes, what a bore! Anyway, I would not worry too much about scores until the PSAT junior year as I am sure that your kid’s scores will significantly improve. I made the mistake of signing DD up for 3 SAT Subject Tests Sophomore Year (January and June) as we were not sure what subjects she would be keeping for A levels and she needs 3 good scores for Georgetown. She got one good score in SAT Literature (which you don’t really need to study specifically for) and two lousy scores. (She avoided the old SAT as there was no point in having her take both SATs) She then took the PSAT junior year and did not do that well, but then got two excellent SAT Subject Tests last December followed by excellent SAT scores in May and June of Junior Year. If I had to do it all over again, I would start testing with the Junior PSAT but have her study beforehand over the previous summer.
Also, on your question on when to do test prep - we found that Saturdays were good as they did not do homework that day and also to figure out which evening they had the least homework which was usually Monday nights. The summer is also a good time for test prep, particularly for October exams.
“If I had to do it all over again, I would start testing with the Junior PSAT but have her study beforehand over the previous summer.”
This may work for some but if I thought there was any chance of my student getting NMSF I certainly would have them take the PSAT soph year and probably the SAT, too! I think that is the best way to address any weaknesses in testing. YMMV.
Not a parent, but my score progression looked like this:
9th grade SAT (for a summer program): 1930
10th grade PSAT: 200
11th grade PSAT: 1470 (221 SI)
11th grade SAT: 2270
Didn’t really study for any of those save for a weekend-long prep course the week before the SAT junior year. I think a lot of the improvement happens naturally, but I have friends who increased their scores significantly with intense prep.
@citymama9 - it’s not necessarily about the prep. As many people have posted, just taking it again when you’re older often leads to improvement.
@citymama9 it’s not that the kids need to study/prep all the time. Sometimes the kids just get better at taking the test with time. Sometimes it’s also maturity and feeling the need to focus and just do it.
My son spent his prep time on looking at the subjects that were giving him a hard time, reading about common mistakes people make, and simple tricks/tactics to improve that area. His ACT score was fine the first time, but the Science section really dragged him down. He just couldn’t figure it out, even on the 2nd test. So, before he took the 3rd time he spent some time just focused on that section. It really helped, his score in that section shot up and boosted his final Act composite score/superscore. It was good to see it worked out for him.
My kid went from good to best in state on PSATs, without prep. Whatever happened between 10 and 11th grade, don’t know. No prep other than sample tests. Experience with the format?
I don’t see the need to prep for the 11th grade PSAT, but I can’t imagine taking the ACT or SAT without prepping. Too much is at stake, especially with a kid who needs to learn test taking strategies.
Prep is good for junior PSAT for kids targeting NMF, otherwise not so much. Now that the PSAT and SAT are so well aligned, PSAT prep is really just SAT prep. S did a course from August to November; before school started it met twice a week for four hours, after school started it dropped to once a week. After the PSAT the course met three more times to prep for the SAT essay and do final practice targeting the Dec 3 SAT. Still waiting for the SAT score but S hopes to be “one and done”.
@MotherOfDragons I experienced the same thing. My niece had pretty dire PSAT scores (she didn’t prep at all) but she did revise for the SATs and got scores in the 700s.
I forget what my son got on his 10th grade PSAT. On his 11th grade PSAT, he got something like 207, with no preparation at all besides having taken it the year before. On his own initiative, he bartered babysitting for a couple hours with a really skilled math tutor / SAT prep guru. Apart from that, he did modest SAT prep on his own. One way or another, the penny dropped. That spring, he took the SAT I for the first and only time, and got 2330. So, 200±point improvement with moderate prep and somehow finally getting it.
I really think that’s the wrong attitude. Taking the PSAT gives you a chance to see what your weaknesses are.
This is an old story I’ve posted before. My kid is an ace test taker. Has a step brother the same year in school who is not. The night before taking the SAT the first time during junior year, he asked my kid for anything he could do in an hour or two to improve his score. He hadn’t studied at all since the PSAT. My kid asked to see his PSAT results. Step hadn’t looked at anything other than scores. Math was fine. Verbal was just about 500 (equivalent), which wasn’t good enough for the colleges of interest.
He dug out the PSAT. My kid looked at it and said "You got almost everything you answered in the verbal section right. The problem is you didn’t finish a lot of the questions. When you take the SAT tomorrow, skip the reading comprehension subsections the first time through. Go to the end of the test. Then go back and do as many of the reading comprehension questions as you can. That way, you’ll answer more questions and your score should go up. "
He followed my kid’s advice. Verbal score went up over 100 points, so he broke 600. Many more options! Moreover, he now understood that the problem was he read too slowly. The summer before college, he took a Sylvan reading course and boosted his reading speed. In college, he was careful to limit the number of reading intensive courses he took each semester. He did well in college and enjoyed academics much more.
The PSAT lets you see where your weaknesses are so you can focus your studying. It’s useful for that purpose for everyone–not just those vying for National Merit.
10th grade PSAT - 1370
11th grade PSAT - 1470
No particular SAT or PSAT prep and hasn’t taken the SAT yet - will in January. But, she did take an ACT prep course (2 hour meetings about 5 times with a small group of kids and multiple practice ACT tests) over the summer between sophomore and junior years and got a 35 on the ACT taken in September of 11th grade. So, yes, a big improvement from sophomore to junior year. We’ll see how the SAT goes in January, but hopeful that the improvement will hold. I think the many practice tests she did over the summer - even though they were ACT - were probably the most helpful thing in her score improvement. That, and just one more year of schooling and maturity.
Read jonri’s advice above about the reading comprehension strategies. Similar strategies can be applied to the math sections.
Ask your child if it’s the material that is holding her back or speed/test strategies. If it’s the material, then she should be learning enough geometry this year to bring her score up. If she feels as though she knew the material but just ran out of time, she can take some practice tests to build up her speed.
Hi OP, I took the old PSAT in 10th grade and got a 219 (out of 240), which was lower than I expected and wouldn’t have qualified for NMSF. In 11th I got a 1500 (out of 1520). A few months later I got a 2350 on the SAT. No studying for the PSAT and one practice test for the SAT. I definitely improved with time.