PSAT scores back, help?

Test Preparation
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<p>I had written a long thought out few paragraphs but somehow or another the page changed as I was writing it and deleted my text, so pardon my being brief, and perhaps being in the wrong area (I just created my account to ask this)</p>

<p>I just received my PSAT scores (they're pretty much terrible compared to some of the stuff I see on here.. I was content about it at first, but it seems to be, after some reading, very slightly above average, which is really not what I anticipated.. </p>

<p>Information:
State: Virginia (US)
Grade Level: 10th, Sophomore in High School
Year: 2012
Race: African-American/White (Mixed)
Gender: Male
Note: My school is also not particularly "commendable", but I don't want to put the blame on the teachers or anything. That said, I went around comparing scores and seemed to be higher than most.. the highest I saw however (it was very much an outlier) was ~207.</p>

<p>Scores:
Critical Reading: 62, "..scored higher than 95% of sophomores"
Mathematics: 47, "...scored higher than 62% of sophomores"
Writing Skills: 58 "...scored higher than 94% of sophomores"</p>

<p>"Selection Index" (Sum Total/Percentile):
167*, 79th percentile ("Compares your performance with college-bound juniors")</p>

<p>Granted, I didn't really study at all and was relatively caught off-guard, I suppose this is decent, but I want opinions from people who know what they are talking about.. Constructive criticism and honesty would be most helpful, though I'd prefer not to be brutally downtrodden be ye' with more intelligence than I. </p>

<p>Anything you can do to help is much appreciated. All I ask is how bad this score is, how much you imagine I can improve in a years time (10th to 11th), and whether you can offer any sites or books or strategies in general to help me improve..</p>

<p>I've never exactly been great at studying (Most of the time I just made great grades and it came to me by just listening in class..), but regardless I'd like to know where I can go to aid in my adventure to higher learning.</p>

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<p>I’m currently a sophomore, too, and I got 221 on the PSAT this year: CR 80, Math 64, WS 75. Here’s what I can tell you.</p>

<p>Just like me, you did much worse on math than on anything else. That’s totally expected, as math is the most knowledge-based of the three subjects and as sophomores, we haven’t learned a lot of the math skills that they test on yet. You can definitely expect a few points improvement in math just from learning math in school this year. The same can be said to some degree for writing skills as you’ll probably learn some more about grammar during your lit class in school.</p>

<p>The best advice I can give you is just to get an SAT book and start practicing. [SAT</a> Books Guide](<a href=“http://www.testpreppractice.net/SAT/sat-books.html]SAT”>SAT Books | GRE SAT LSAT GED TOEFL MCAT ACT IELTS GMAT Test Prep)
It really is the best way to get better. Don’t worry about the PSAT too much- no offense, but it’d be pretty hard for you to improve to a NMSF level score, and the test doesn’t matter for anything besides that.</p>

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<p>No offense taken at all man, I appreciate it. I’ll definitely see what I can look at - perhaps the library would have something for me…
Nice score by the way, good luck with your SAT next year as well!</p>

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<p>I went from a 204 to a 236 (10th to 11th). Best thing to do is to look at all the questions you got wrong on practice tests and identify what mistake you made, and figure out WHY the correct answer is correct. If you understand the test-makers, then you’ve already beaten the test.</p>

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<p>That’s true, I’ve heard that before. I guess also it’s a motivation thing… They gave me back the test and answers too as you said, so I’ll be sure to check that out, thanks. The biggest thing on reading I noticed was some pretty in depth vocabulary… I see people studying for SAT vocab words from time to time, I guess I’ll do that too if I can find a list… Math is probably just a matter of me trying hard to learn in Geo/Alg2. Thanks again</p>

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<p>You have received good advice so far. Have you logged on to the College Board site to view the questions you got wrong? The printed sheets and answer book can provide the same info, but the on-line site has useful tools. </p>

<p>An on-line access code should appear at the bottom of your score report. You use that code to log into your test on the CB site. I don’t know is this link will take you to the correct place, but try it:<a href=“https://quickstart.collegeboard.org/posweb/login.jsp?affiliateId=FeaturedListing&bannerid=psat_quickstart[/url]”>https://quickstart.collegeboard.org/posweb/login.jsp?affiliateId=FeaturedListing&bannerid=psat_quickstart&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If it doesn’t work, just search “PSAT quick start” in the search box on CB. I forget the specifics, but I believe it will tell you how many of each type of question you got wrong. Were you able to finish all the questions in each section? If not, practice SATs will increase your speed and more practice will increase your accuracy. </p>

<p>I think the sophomore PSAT should be taken cold so that you know where you need to focus your efforts. Buy the College Board’s blue book, take a practice test, score it and than analyze your errors and group them by type (careless, confused/tripped up, do not yet know content–as in math). Once you identify the areas that need word, you can start prepping. </p>

<p>There are several good advice ‘guides’ on this CC site. As a parent, I have been very impressed by the advice offered by other students. Good luck!</p>

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<p>TL;DR all the way thru</p>

<p>Don’t be too down. I got a similar score soph year, but I was able to qualify for National Achievement Semi’s with my junior score. And I managed a very high ACT score, which carries much more weight than the PSAT ever could.</p>

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<p>I know a guy that got a 187 sophomore year and got a 229 as a junior. So its possible to improve. I had a 202 and got a 234 this year. You can do it!!</p>

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<p>thanks everyone… I feel like an idiot, but what exactly is ACT? Also I know it’s probably a bit irrelevant on this sub, but say one had a bit of a falling out and bad sophomore year… How bad does that hurt college chances? I’ve done super well normally, 4.0 pretty much (thought I suppose it doesn’t matter much before this year or last year). But this year, or semester at least, it’s been really bad because I missed like 20 days of school… Like probably half that GPA. I can totally improve to A’s next semester, and definitely next year, but how much will this terrible semester have affected my chances at college, or in all, a successful life?</p>

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<p>The ACT is a standardized test held on the same footing as the SAT for college admissions.</p>

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<p>Xesante, missing 20 days of school won’t mess you up for life. :slight_smile: But if it is because of illness or family issues, and if it caused a dip in your grades, make sure your high school guidance counselor is aware of it in fall of your senior year. They do recommendations for college, and can talk about a good reason for a dip in grades as long as it is temporary and you have good explanation.</p>