Correct me if I am wrong but the PSAT’s are (officially) taken in the beginning of junior year and it is ONLY then that students can qualify for National Merit- is that right? If someone is taking it in Sophomore or Freshman year it is ONLY as practice and does not officially count at all, is that right?
Correct.
How is the practice PSAT scored? Is it 20-80 on each section, corresponding to 200-800?
@nycmayflower yes. Basically add a 0 to the end of any PSAT composite or section score to get the corresponding SAT score
The new PSAT is score on a 1520 scale but if you are looking for scoring for national merit
check out the first post of this thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/1815026-important-psat-nmsqt-scoring-information-for-the-new-psat-and-national-merit-p1.html