<p>In the SAT, you are docked 1/4 point for incorrect answers, you lose no points for questions you don’t answer, and get one point for correctly answered questions. The ACT does not penalize you for incorrect answers. So for the SAT, it is not worth it to guess unless you know that one of two answers are correct. In other words, eliminate to a chance of 1 in 2. When the new format SAT is released they will no longer penalize for incorrect answers.</p>
<p>Oh, I see. Thank you for the explanation. I had no idea that in SAT they deduct points if you give the incorrect answers. Harsh!! </p>
<p>Hi all-- So both PSATs are over. How did your kids feel about it? My DS17 took it on Wednesday and thought it went fairly well. He did read the instruction booklet the day before, but didn’t take the sample test. On the way to school that day, he asked what his motivation was for doing well on this since it didn’t “count”. I said finding out how much he’d need to prep for the SAT, help with getting into summer programs, and getting more mail and email from colleges. He was mainly happy at the prospect of more college spam.</p>
<p>We chatted beforehand about his difficulty choosing between a planned major in physical sciences, computers, or engineering. He ended up putting physical sciences. The proctor tried to tell the kids they could bubble in more than one major choice in the same bubbles, but the kids corrected her.</p>
<p>Last Saturday, we went to the Open House at the Jet Propulsion Lab. It was very crowded, but the kids (and the parents) loved seeing it. The satellite we saw them packing up has since arrived at Vandenberg for launch in January.</p>
<p>My S took the PSAT today. He said one of the math sections was more difficult than he anticipated, although not too difficult to finish, and the other math section was easier than anticipated. He least like the writing section (section 5 on his test). It will be interesting to see what his scores are. Now we are getting an SAT study guide because he is signed up for the January SAT. He isn’t so thrilled about that :)</p>
<p>@mtrosemom – I imagine that you know that the Jan exam date is one of the QAS dates. You can order a copy of your son’s exam booklet and answer sheet (with correct responses indicated) for an additional $18. The package arrives approximately six to eight weeks after the exam date. One comment: the exam booklet that is returned is not the one your son used during the exam, but instead a blank booklet. This differs from the PSAT where the actual ‘written in’ exam booklet is returned with the score sheet.</p>
<p>BTW—my son also said that one of the math sections today was more difficult than the practice exam distributed with the test this year. I had him work through one practice test but I wasn’t paying attention when he sat for the practice test and forgot to tell him calculators were allowed. Fortunately the school’s PSAT reminder rules mentioned calculators so he brought his to the exam today. I think it just allowed him additional time to check work.</p>
<p>Thanks CT1417. I had ordered the extra score report for my son.</p>
<p>D took hers on Wednesday and also said there was a more difficult portion in the math, but overall felt she did well. She is a humanities type and felt she was strongest in the critical reading sections. She says she actually enjoyed the writing, lol.</p>
<p>We went to an HBCU fair yesterday and she talked to some not previously on her list about her goal of dual-enrolling during her senior year. We also got some very informative scholarship information and learned about a college tour this spring break she is interested in doing. No further motivation needed-she has goal a year ahead of her peers and knows she needs to do well on the tests, though she still plans on trying the ACT to see if it’s a better fit. CT1417-I didn’t know you could order the score sheet. D just said to order it for her. I wonder if I need to do that through the school since that’s who registered her entire class?</p>
<p>@sseamom – I am not sure if you are asking about the answer sheet for the PSAT or the SAT. If the PSAT, no need to order as the school <em>should</em> return the student’s actual test booklet and a computer-generated answer sheet that shows student’s response, correct response (if different), and I believe level of difficulty of question. (Don’t quote me on that last one as it has been two years.) Score sheet also indicates questions omitted. The PSAT score sheet includes a code that allows the student to log in to see each incorrect question and the responses, but the test booklet and answer sheet accomplish the same purpose. Some students prefer using computers. While this varies by school, in our area, PSAT scores are distributed via Guidance in early to mid-December. </p>
<p>If you were inquiring about ordering test booklet & answer sheet for SAT, that is something you order via College Board. It is only available for the Oct, Jan & May test dates, costs $18, and may be ordered up to five (?) months after the test date. Just search QAS within the SAT section of the CB site.</p>
<p>PLMK if you were asking something different entirely.</p>
<p>CT-I think I misunderstood and read that you can pay for <em>PSAT</em> answer sheets. Our school didn’t give them back, or the booklets, last year unless you had to know to ask, which I didn’t. I will have D ask the counselor about it for this year. </p>
<p>@sseamom – I will be curious to hear if your school does not return the test & answer sheet to the students. I suppose it could be different in our public school where students need to register weeks in advance and pay $30 to take the test. If your school has everyone take the test, perhaps they use it as a form of grade-level testing. When our school administers CT state tests, the students only receive their scores but not a copy of the actual test. </p>
<p>The entire district’s freshmen and sophs take the PSAT, paid for by the district, so perhaps that’s why they didn’t get the answer sheets. But they are done as practice, not as grade-level testing. </p>
<p>You’re in CT? Whereabouts? I went to UConn and had relatives in the Milford area for many years.</p>
<p>Public school here in Georgia. All 10th graders take the PSAT free. If 9th or 11th graders want to take the test they have to register and pay $20. Everyone gets the test and answer sheet back. I wonder CT pays $30. </p>
<p>@MichiganGeorgia – I wonder if our school charges more to help defray the cost of the proctors? </p>
<p>Very interesting that 10th graders take it free of charge but 11th graders pay. I feel 9th grade is too early, especially for anyone not in advanced math. It might just scare them off standardized testing!</p>
<p>They use the 10th grade PSAT scores to help decide which kids are ready for AP classes in 11th grade. There are only 2 AP’s they can take before 11th grade at our school.(AP Stat and AP World History). </p>
<p>Ours is free for 11th graders and all of them take it. It is $20 for sophomores and they take the first 150 signups (about 30% of the class). ACT Aspire will be free to all sophomores sometime this spring.</p>
<p>We attended a PVA College Fair last night with a friend that is a junior and found some colleges that DS liked. I’ve heard that the college fairs aren’t very useful but we found it to be informative and helped him find colleges that wouldn’t have been on the radar since we are in TX. For music/dance majors, I loved Indiana’s Bachelor’s of Science in an other field (BSOF) that allows the student to participate in music or dance at a high level but also pursue a degree in science. Anyone familiar with this?</p>
<p>We have a college fair coming up next Sunday that we will attend with S. D never went to these, but she had a firm idea of what she wanted. S is more open to different school environments so I think it will be helpful.</p>
<p>The small fairs can be great. We’ve met the head of admissions from some colleges at them, and gotten some great info you wouldn’t find on school websites. Also, the workshops are smaller and you get a chance to ask direct questions. But even the larger ones can put a school on the radar for someone. My older D applied to one (and was admitted) that had never been on her radar. That in turn led to looking at others in the area, so it worked out well. </p>
<p>Our school’s college fair had a lot of schools that didn’t interest him, but the 3 California higher-ed systems all had people there to talk (in the auditorium before the “fair”) about their admissions and financial aid processes and the strengths of their many campuses and impaction of various majors. S didn’t have a good overall picture of the UC campuses other than the local one (and knowing some graduates from last year who went to Berkeley), so that was useful. </p>
<p>When is the PSAT result coming out? </p>