Hi, I just got my PSAT scores (I got them earlier from my school counselor since she was able to access them today). I noticed that the scale for the individual subsection scores that give you your National Merit Selection Index were extremely harsh in grading. I’ll provide my score breakdown below.
SCORES
Total Score - 1420/1520
Reading/Writing - 690/760
Math - 730/760
QUESTIONS
Total - 131/138
Reading - 46/47
Writing - 40/44
Math w/o Calculator - 16/17
Math w/ Calculator - 30/31
NATIONAL MERIT INDEX
Index - 211/228
Reading - 36/38
Writing - 33/38
Math - 36.5/38
I’m just not quite sure how me missing one question on reading warranted a two point deduction from my reading index score, which means that it’s impossible to even score a 37 on it, along with 5 points being deducted for only missing 4 questions on writing. I’m also not sure how a total missed question count of 7 warranted 100 points off of my total scale score.
I know that they scale it differently every single year but this seems extremely drastic and different from previous years, along with the fact that my PSAT/SAT tutor told me that normally only missing 7 questions would easily warrant a national merit qualification (in Texas it’s usually 220-221). It’s extremely frustrating as a matter of 4 questions separated me from qualifying, meaning that I would need to miss 2 or 3 questions total to even qualify.
Again, I understand that the scores are scaled different every single year, however I don’t see how between this year and last year, suddenly thousands of juniors could become extremely smart and score so highly as usually the scores follow the same trends throughout the years. My friend who also only missed 5 total questions received a 1440/1520 which again seems extremely outlandish to me.
If you compare the 2019 PSAT test curves (for both 2019 test administrations) to those of the past few years, they most closely align with the 2018 curves. Per Compass Prep, here’s how the 2018 curves played out on the 2020 cutoffs:
“The changes were the narrowest we have seen in more than a decade of tracking National Merit cutoffs. Students hitting last years’ targets were almost universally rewarded with Semifinalist status. Only Idaho’s cutoff moved up this year (from 214 to 215). Exactly half the states saw lower cutoffs this year, and twenty-four cutoffs were unchanged. No cutoff changed by more than 2 points—again, almost unprecedented stability.”
Given that the 2018 and 2019 curves are so similar — and that it could be argued that the 2019 curve might be even more harsh (particularly when you look at the reading and writing curves), it might be safe to say that the cutoffs may parallel what we saw this year, with most state cutoffs dropping or remaining the same.
Texas has been at 221 for the past three years and most likely will remain there or possibly drop by 1. Purely speculation based on analysis of past curves and how they affected past cutoffs.
@micalcbac22 , egads! Only missed 4 questions?! Yikes! There were 6 states last year that dropped 2 SI points so maybe it could happen?! I’m game for Texas dropping 2 points! How many from each section did you miss?
@micalcbac22 , my daughter graduated high school this year and is National Merit. She also missed 4 ( one reading, one writing, 2 math) and had a 223 SI. That totally stinks that the curve has you at 219. I hoping the SI drops for you in Texas!
I got 1 wrong on reading and 1 wrong on math, and I got 740 on both sections. So seems like they took off 20 pts for the first wrong and then -10 for each wrong answer after that? My selection index was 36/38/37 (so -2 on reading for 1 wrong question? but just -1 for 1 wrong on math? idk)
I got 1460 in PSAT with SI 219 for PA. PA has been at 220 for the past two years. what are the chances of meeting the cutoff for NMSQT semifinalist? will it drop to 219 or not this year…
Actually, @evergreen5 , from a scaled score perspective, that isn’t right. Looking at the [Understanding PSAT Scores booklet](https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/psat-nmsqt-understanding-scores.pdf) pg 15, you can see that missing only one question on the Math section (Oct 16th test form) takes you down 20 points while missing two questions takes your score down 30-- the second wrong question is worth 10 points.
You can see that getting 37 or 38 questions right on the Reading Section yields you the exact same section score. Getting 39 or 40 questions right on the Writing/Language section gives you the same scaled score. So, really, each question is not weighted equally from a scaled perspective.
Now, if you were saying that Question 8 is worth the same as Question 9 or Question 20, theoretically, that is true. But, in reality, missing six questions vs. missing seven questions does not mean that your score goes down in a linear fashion. The scale is clearly NOT linear.
@mg121779 DD scored a 1460 in PSAT in AZ with an SI of 218. AZ was 219 cutoff last year, but 220 in years prior, so we are wondering the same thing. How does a 1460 equate to an SI of 219 in PA and a 218 in AZ? Not sure how that works, I have not done the research.
@azmoms It has nothing to do with the state. The reading and writing is weighted more heavily than the math for selection index, so two scores that are the same out of 1520 can give a different selection index depending on scores on the two sections.
@4729562 Yeah I agree with you because the curve REALLY did me dirty. I got a 1460 and missed two on both reading and writing, and it gave me a SI of 216, which ruined my chances.
Missed 2 in reading and 3 points taken off (35 score)
Missed 2 in math and 1.5 point taken off (36.5 score)
Hope NJ cutoff is lowered - It was 223 last year
My DD was 36 reading (missed 3), 36 writing (missed 1), and 37 math (missed 2), SI 218. Sadly, she did better as a sophomore in reading and writing. And @4729562, that makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.