I find this whole PSAT scoring bizarre. Maybe it’s just me, but why is the max score 1520, when the SAT has a top score of 1600?
Also, what’s the deal with the state-by-state NMSF cut-offs? Isn’t this a “national” test? Shouldn’t there simply be a single cut-off score (maybe weighted by state if that has any relevancy, which I still don’t get) for the entire country? And am I correct in understanding that a Commendee status IS national, as opposed to SF, which is state-based?
Sounds totally blanked-up to me. As with most things with the College Board, I suppose that the answer is simply “because we can”.
It’s also keeping customers (yes you are a customer) happy. If I am an exceptional test taker in an ACT state, do I bother with the SAT if all of the NMF are in the northeast? The lower bar in states is a marketing ploy.
Well, we wait. 217 in Michigan is a “bubble” score in my mind. My older 2 kids had 221 (class of 2016) and 222 (class of 2018). They felt pretty confident of SF.
Ten years between my first and last PSAT takers and what a world of difference. Oldest got a full tuition scholarship to Northeastern as a NMF, that disappeared a long time ago.
I had been keeping an eye on the Fl schools, but most of those disappeared last year for out of state students. One of my twins (CS/Math) liked UTD, but he’s the one who will be commended (215).
So that leaves the Economics twin (227) who will very likely be a NMF. At this point, not sure he will find a NMF option, but fingers crossed. Oldest visited Alabama and was blown away by the program, but couldn’t see himself at a school where “everyone was nice” and when he spoke with someone about not liking football was told “you’ll learn to love it”.
I may be wrong, but it seems like NMF scholarships are most useful to STEM majors. Pre-med students need to keep costs low, GPA high and engineering majors are similiar and hard at any ABET school.
I am at this far shorter than you, but even in the past year, the financial significance of NMF has decreased rather dramatically. For someone with a reasonably high achieving kid, it feels the goal posts are shifting and moving backwards all of the time.
But college $ is not a closed cell. If being reduced here, then where is it going. Endowments must be swelling with the markets, so this is not an austerity thing.
We’re in Illinois and I’m curious if others who were supposed to get results today still get the message “Your Score Is Pending?” It also said it’s being processed and we should get the score within the week, but if we don’t receive the score by today we can contact them.
Just curious of any other northern states are in the same boat! Thanks!
Compass Prep actually updated the table yesterday morning. Art is now predicting a Commended cutoff at 208 for the class of 2023 with a confidence range of 207-209. The number of test takers rebounded some from last year, but still not yet back to pre-Covid levels. This is keeping the qualifying number lower than it has been historically.
As you pointed out, all are “educated guesses” until the actual numbers are leaked in April and formally released in September.
Out west and still waiting for scores. Any other west coasters still waiting? S23’s sophomore PSAT was good enough for SF so hoping his PSAT/NMSQT score is the same or better. For a kid who was annoyed at having to take another standardized test, he seems awfully interested in the results; he’s been checking CB more than I have!
It’s on a 1520 scale because it’s intended to be a less difficult test than the SAT, for younger students. Similarly, the PSAT 8/9 is on a 1440 scale. The scores represent the same performance on each test, so the 3-5 most difficult test on the SAT, that differentiate 760-800, are replaced with easier questions differentiating 160-200. As younger students score lower on the tests, I think it makes sense for the scoring center and range to reflect the students taking the test.
National Merit has chosen to award the top students in each state, proportional to the high school population in each state. That’s just how they, as a private company, choose to award their prizes. Competitions that award the same number of prizes per state are much more imbalanced.
College Board does not run the National Merit competition.
Thanks for that, but it still leaves a lot of things unclear.
On the scoring range, it is generally juniors taking the test, who are also taking the SAT year in junior and senior years. Of course, sophomores and others are too. But, why not make it more of a predictor of the SAT by using the same scale. The SSAT, for example, has multiple grades taking their tests, and they scale the tests differently for each grade. That seems like a much more rational way of doing it to account for different classes, and having the PSAT scored like the SAT still seems to be the better way to do it.
Private company or government program, it still doesn’t make sense to have state-by-state SemiFinalist cut-offs, but a national Commendee cut-off. Is the implication of state-by-state cut-offs that some states’ students do better on the PSAT? AFAIK, the SAT doesn’t do that at all, scaling it nationally by test.
The CB and the NMSC are “co-sponsors” of the PSAT. So, I don’t think it’s entirely right to say the CB is completely divorced from the National Merit Scholarship program. For example, “College Board sends PSAT/NMSQT scores to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), the test’s cosponsor. Learn about the National Merit® Scholarship Program, an academic competition for recognition and scholarships.”
The cutoff is on a state by state basis to be released in Sept 2022. If history holds up - a 213 will be NMSF is 10 or so, generally central states. It will not get you NMSF on either coast (would need 220+ for many).
It will almost certainly confer Commended status though.
If you are 220 in many states (lower or higher in some- the actual cutoff by state is tbd) you will be recognized as a National Merit Semifinalist, with the opportunity to become NM Scholar. A bit more process (essay etc.), but many NMSF become NMS. With this comes automatic scholarships at many universities and a really resume enhancing honor.
Below that honor is National Merit Commended. A nationwide cutoff is set- many think to be 209-210 this year- with the actual tbd. This is not state by state. An honor, but far below that of NMS. No known automatic scholarships associated with it. A nice pat on the back, but far below NMS.
I don’t see how using the same scale would make it a better predictor. Getting a 1220 on a 320-1520 scaled PSAT vs. a 1220 on a 400-1600 scaled PSAT would be exactly the same.
Centering the test on the average score, with similar distributions on either tail, seems to make my sense to me than a skewed distribution. Why take participants of of the ceiling and put them in floor?
Regardless of anyone’s opinion, that’s how NMC has chosen to do it. I’m just reporting it, not defending it or opposing it.
The Program sponsors are listed at
College Board does send scores to the NMC, and NMC is a co-sponsor of the program (along with Corporations and Universities, as listed above). I don’t see anywhere that says CB is also a co-sponsor. Am I missing it?
ACT scores are also acceptable for AE and Finalist confirmation. I don’t think that makes them a co-sponsor.
