No PSAT here. They didn’t offer it to sophomores this year (covid), although they did 2 years ago when my S22 was a sophomore. I’m not too concerned - S24 is a very good test taker (did exceptionally well on SSAT in 8th grade with no prep). For reference - older kid scored about 100 points better on SAT than PSAT (he’s not a great test taker, but his score still went up). In my view, the sole utility of an early PSAT is to show areas of weakness so you can work on them before the tests start counting.
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Another vote for trying both timed tests. You can purchase a book of sample tests from SAT and ACT. My son’s high school did a weekend boot camp that was painful but exposed his comparative strength in ACT. He struggled with the PSAT math questions even after practicing. The more straightforward math on the ACT plus his speedy reading made it obvious ACT was better for him. It’s important to note that for ELA > Math kids, math is only 25% of the ACT vs. 50% SAT and SAT has a no calculator section. The ACT
“science” section is a critical thinking measure.
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I talked to my nephew who is a junior at Brown. It might not be applicable for my S24 but it’s a perspective.
He prepped for SAT exclusively. He did well but couldn’t break 1560 after 3 tries but really wanted to do better. Without much prep, he took the ACT and ended up with 36 and submitted ACT scores on the application. He felt the tests were similar enough.
Since the score is based on 36, it sounds like it’s a little easier to get a perfect score even if you miss a couple of questions. Not sure if that’s really the case.
Yes I hope to make my son try ACT out during winter break. I think the PSAT score may help convince him to try ACT if he does not do so great on the reading part.
Nice. If you look at the SAT and ACT scores table a 1570 or above usually is equivalent to 36 and that shows up as a perfect score. Looks like he is a perfectionist 
Oh its great that your school pays for AP fees. We pay it ourselves. There is no mandate to take the test if you do AP but more 95% of people who take the AP test the test.
I agree! I’m sorry I was not clear. I meant actual old tests vs a practice version that doesn’t reflect length and content of an actual old test. My son took the two old tests at home in his room vs an actual official test sitting session
Yeah. Khan academy actually has 10 actual old SAT papers that you can do for free. Not sure if they have ACT also.
I’m pretty sure Khan is SAT only.
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It’s a bit easier to get a perfect score on the ACT (.31%) than the SAT (.07%). Of course, it’s hard to achieve either. Only about 500 kids get a 1600 every year to put it in context.
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From someone who tutors SAT/ACT math
SAT has a non-calculator and calculator section while ACT allows a calculator for all questions. SAT math questions are supposed to be similar to what you learn at school so students prefer it however SAT math tests broader math understanding. ACT math focuses on strategy and execution so many questions are straightforward. It’s easier to raise ACT math scores for students who lack deep math understanding.
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LOL. That explains how my daughter scored a 28 when she was in 8th grade. S21’s idea of punking her but she didn’t know it because she was innocent back then and did what big brother said since he promised it was a fun competition.
I got an email from College Board about a week-ish ago that said results come out tomorrow (12/6).
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DS24 just texted me from school and got a 1050 on the PSAT. I’m trying not to worry too much, especially since right after taking it he told me half of the math he had never seen before. Apparently 1050 is in the 75th percentile. I will have more details when he gets home and we can look at his score together. I told him not to worry about it and it is just starting point but I can tell he’s disappointed and expected to do better.
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Don’t worry about this score!! It’s actually a solid score. They took this beginning of their sophomore year with no strategy and not having exposed to half the material. If it helps, my son got 1120 or 1150, I think (which is probably 1-2 more answers correct than your kiddo). He got a 36 on the ACT and somehow got National Merit Commended Scholar junior year PSAT. His writing is still crap but he’s doing just fine in college
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The math section especially will improve if your DS in not in advanced math at this point. From my understanding they cover alegbra2/Trig. If he is not yet done with in school he should see an improvement as they cover this.
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DD24 scored a 1340, selection index of 203. She bested her brother DS22 who is a NMSF.
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Nice. She must be feeling good to best her brother
I dont understand the college board, we dont get results in NJ until tomorrow, oh well!
Same, though some of my friends’ kids in other local districts (NJ) got their results late last week. 