<p>or a "mock" PSAT, how much did their scores improve before senior year in high school?</p>
<p>Also, did the relationships between the scores stay the same? We just got my son's scores, and while I'm not particularly surprised by the total, I am very surprised by the breakdown. Specifically, his math score came out quite a bit higher than his reading, which doesn't match any other standardized test he's ever taken, or his performance in class. His writing was higher still, which surprised me too, although not as much as the math did.</p>
<p>Well, S took the SAT for the CTY Talent Search during 7th grade. His eventual SATs were higher, of course, but the gap between his CR and M narrowed significantly (the M rose a lot). </p>
<p>In his case, I’d put it down to our school system’s then-inadequate elementary math program.</p>
<p>Is he ahead of national grade level in math? We have a group of 9th graders taking Honors Alg 2 but Alg 2 is considered 11th grade math, for a child who is not going the curriculum at an accelerated pace. The SAT only covers material through Alg 2. I suspect that the PSAT is the same but I don’t know that to be true. If you son is ‘ahead’ in math, that could explain the differential between his M & CR scores.</p>
<p>I believe the W score of the PSAT is largely based on an understanding of grammar so he may know his grammar rules. I am doing a lot of guessing here so someone who knows more should step in!</p>
<p>For my 2 kids, the breakdown between CR, M, W could change pretty significantly between tests. On the PSAT, just missing 1 question makes your score fluctuate pretty wildly.
This is also important to remember if kid wants to hit NMSF. Can only miss very few (can’t remember the number for sure. 1-2 in each section? to make NMSF in CA).</p>
<p>In state standardized tests my kid always scored higher in math than english. However in the PSAT he scored way higher in writing and CR than math. I do not think the state tests and SATs are alike. I was surprised too.</p>
<p>Jane–you are probably aware, but just in case you are not, the Class 0f '17 will be the first to experience the new PSAT as juniors, rolled out before the new SAT for spring of '16.</p>
<p>Mine went from 188 to 208 to 228. Writing was her highest each time, with an 80 on the last one. Reading and math started in the mid 60’s and ended up in the 70’s. </p>
<p>I had figured to get a 215 and make NMSF in TN, if she got 8 or less wrong, she would definitely make it. If it was 9-12 she would probably make it, and more than 12 would almost certainly be too low.</p>
<p>My math guy got an 80 on the PSAT writing section in 10th grade, but never came close to that on the SAT. (He got under 700 twice.) He also got an 80 in the math on the PSAT in 11th grade but didn’t get one in two tries on the SAT, though he came close. On the other hand he never got an 80 on the PSAT verbal section and got 800s both times on the SAT. His overall scores did go up from sophomore to junior year on the PSAT. I think his total for all three section SAT score ended up being very similar to his last PSAT score.</p>
<p>I think if you look at the percentile of the score it’s correlated to the grade of your kid. So if a ninth grader gets in the 98th percentile with a 65 score (just as an example no idea what the actual number required is) they’ll probably be in the 98th percentile in the 11th grade which will require a somewhat higher score.</p>
<p>My D took ACT at 11 yr. old, scoring 32. At 12, she took SAT, getting 2200. At 15, she took SAT the last time, scoring 2360. For both SAT tests, she got 790 M and 800 CR. The difference was in W.</p>
<p>His score only went up about 10 points between sophomore and junior year. Got ~ 221(which missed the CA cutoff this year) after practcing for it, then 3 months later took the SAT with almost no extra prep and got 2340. You never know exactly how these things will go. At those levels, 1 or 2 questions can make a big difference.</p>
<p>My S went DOWN a few points between soph and JR PSAT but did better in SAT and ACT. Fortunately the cutoff dropped for NMF with his scores, so he would have made it soph year and just made it JR year. As others have posted, how well or poorly the kids score can be a bit random.</p>
<p>Yep, I know a kid or two who was at NMSF range (CA) as a soph, but then their score dropped as a Jr so they didn’t make it :(. Because the cutoff in CA is around 218-222, and you can only miss like 1-2 for each section, kid has to basically be consistently getting 100% on the practice tests to get any sense of comfort that they will hit NMSF. If the frosh score starts off as lower, there is much more potential room for improvement in soph and jr scores.
D took SAT and PSAT approx. 15 days apart and scored approx. 100 (10) points higher on SAT.</p>
<p>My NMF added 10 point between his freshman and sophomore year and 50 points between his sophomore and junior year. The relationship between math, reading and writing stayed about the same. Most of his test prep was at the start of his junior year. By using the “your skills” breakdown in the PSAT results your S can target weaker areas to study. I would also recommend taking some practice tests under real test conditions with time limits.</p>
<p>My daughter took it as a freshman and did fairly well, took as a sophomore and got the exact same score!!! She did about 100 points better on the SAT than on the projected PSAT score. </p>
<p>As an aside, Seniors do not take the SAT. The last time kids take it is as Juniors when they can qualify for NMSF or NMF.</p>
<p>I took the SAT in 6th, 8th, and 11th grade (2x), and the PSAT in 10th and 11th grade. My SAT scores went up hugely from 6th grade to 8th grade, but 6th grade was when I was in elementary school and back then I was taking the old SAT.
My 8th grade SAT scores and 10th grade PSAT scores were fairly similar, especially given that I did pretty much no prep for either. My Writing and Math scores showed some improvement.
From 10th to 11th grade, I improved, but by only a few points, in each section. I was a National Merit and Nat’l Achievement Scholar.
My final 11th grade Math SAT score was lower than my PSAT score; I got a 75 but a 700. Writing was the same (80 & 800) while CR increased.</p>
<p>I remember when S took the PSAT in 9th grade with no prep or information about the test. As a former NMF I was shocked at the low scores, and thought we should just write off notions of any elite college. Turns out, he really just didn’t understand the nature of the time limits, and this was reflected in the reading score in particular. He meandered taking the test and left much of it unfinished. It sounds like something like that could have happened with your S. </p>
<p>Once he practiced time management, his actual scores turned out to be quite respectable and he was accepted at a number of elite schools. He just got 99th percentile GREs. In retrospect, I regret him taking it in 9th grade (which was standard at S’s school). I think its better just to do a practice test if you want to get a feel for it.</p>
<p>That’s interesting about the “meandering” hurting your son most in CR. He took the test on his first day back from a long illness. I had forgotten about it so it was a total surprise when he got to school that day. So, I assume the test scores will go up when he’s rested and at least knows it’s coming. I wasn’t surprised by how high or low the scores were overall, but it did surprise me that my kid, who is very much a “humanities” kid and at the very beginning of Geometry when he took it, would score 4 points better on math than on reading. But your explanation makes some sense. </p>
<p>The test was a “mock” test under real circumstances. I’m assuming that Kaplan paid for the test in some way since the results came with a handy dandy list of suggestions, all of which fell into two general categories</p>
<p>“You did badly here, but don’t worry! If you go to Kaplan they’ll fix your score in no time”.</p>
<p>or </p>
<p>“Congratulations! You did well on this. But go to Kaplan and they’ll show you how to do even better.”</p>
<p>I do not think that you will find any “general” correlations between the two. First of all, defining what “mock” PSAT is important. It is not the same when one takes a test at home versus at school as part of an official testing session. Same difference between a real test of TCB and one of those awful wannabe tests produced by prep companies. </p>
<p>When comparing the same tests taken in the same place, the results will also differ. In general terms, the PSAT is easier context-wise but less forgiving (fewer questions and bigger penalties for errors.) Then, what happens between a 9th grade PSAT and a senior SAT is extremely variable. Some students do NOT do a darn thing in terms of preparation and let the increased maturity and academic skills do their magic. Others invest considerable in preparing for the tests. Others rely on tutors to “get there.”</p>
<p>All those variables make it hard to “predict” an increase in scores, or the alternatives. My personal evaluation is that one should score higher on the real SAT, but that such success is totally dependent on investing sufficient time in a dedicated preparation in the summer before Junior year and the same year’s Christmas.</p>
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<p>I just read this, and this does not “help” much. Kaplan “might” have “acquired” a batch of official tests from a number of sources, or rely on one of their (garbage) in-house tests. If that was the case, you will be much better off by locating one of the (easy to find) PSAT real tests and having your student taking it at home. The in-house tests of Kaplan and others are simply not reliable. And do not be fooled by the narratives – they are equally unreliable. </p>
<p>Kaplan is not better or worse than any other companies. Their model is simply inefficient and based on helping average students earn an average score. The only valuable component of their entire business is in the form of the super high-priced tutors. The group classes are organized robbery.</p>
<p>PS It is possible I completely miss the relation between Kaplan and the school, :)</p>
<p>It’s definitely not a “real” test. They took it the same day in the fall when the real test was given, because the 10th and 11th graders were taking the real test at the same time, but they were pretty clear this was a “mock” test. I also don’t think that the real PSAT score reports are quite so biased in favor of Kaplan!</p>
<p>My son is under the impression that it was an old, released test that they used? I don’t know for sure. Obviously if I didn’t even know he was taking it until he came home I didn’t research this very much!</p>