<p>My son's high school offers and encourages students to take the PSAT in tenth grade as practice. Since the real test is Junior Year in terms of the National Merit Scholarship, other than the practice of sitting in the gym taking this test a full year out, we are considering that it would be better for him to continue to do practice tests throughout the year at home (he started last summer with these) and take the test only as a junior. Any thoughts? My daughter was pretty burned out by the end of Junior year with psat, sat , subject tests etc and I see some benefit in being more selective with these tests.</p>
<p>Different kids respond differently. </p>
<p>My daughter is also a sophomore and will be taking the PSAT in the coming weeks. She studied for it over the summer and is treating it as if it is the real deal. </p>
<p>I think there is something to be said for having experience with the test in a setting more resembling the actual test conditions. </p>
<p>She is practicing with the SAT “blue book” tests and currently is self-studying, using the xiggi method. Her PSAT score last year was 185. After applied studying she is already scoring significantly higher on the SAT practice tests. It will be intersting to see how closely these practice test scores are reflected in her PSAT score this year. </p>
<p>My daughter wil also be doing practice tests about once every 6-8 weeks throughout the next few months and heavy preparation next summer for the “real” PSAT next year. </p>
<p>Your mileage may vary. What we think is right for us may not apply to your situation at all.</p>
<p>It is very common for high schools to offer this “dry run” for kids as sophomores. I think it is beneficial if your child wants a benchmark to focus their efforts on studying for next year. For my D, the biggest benefit was getting that first sitting out of the way. Now she knows what to expect.</p>
<p>My older son took the PSAT sophmore year for practice (his score was good but not NMSF good). He took the exam junior year and made NMSF. He did not review at all before the sophmore exam and took one practice test the night before the junior exam.</p>
<p>My younger son will take the PSAT next month as a sophmore without any practice. I will then have him review next summer for the junior year exam. </p>
<p>I think it is a good idea to take it as a sophmore since this gives them exposure to the exam in real test taking conditions. I don’t think it is necessary for them to take practice exams for the full year before the junior year test. If they start in the summer they should have plenty of review time.</p>
<p>I took it my sophomore year for practice and i felt that it was a great help because it got me familiar with the testing situation. Also, i got to see what my actual level was and where i made my mistakes so i would improve myself for the Junior year PSAT test.
I think it’s a great help to take it the year before.</p>
<p>D took it 10th grade and did well enough that she didn’t bother taking it in 11th - took SAT instead. She missed out on NM but she was done with all her std testing for the whole Jr. year which was beneficial as she could concentrate on her class work instead (and the million other things she’s had on her plate.)</p>
<p>It is fairly common for kids to take the PSAT in 10th grade now. It’s a fine way to test the waters for kids who have little experience with standardized tests. All the kids I know who took it in 10th thought it was worth the effort.</p>
<p>I can’t see any downside to taking it as a sophomore. It’s a true freebie and the only way to get a baseline that doesn’t “count.” He should 100% take it.</p>