<p>That would probably result in a higher score, Erin’s Dad! I bet everyone would agree on THAT.</p>
<p>@QuantMech, I think you are exactly right. Uncertainty and doubt can be distracting, it can undermine your self-confidence in a very destructive way, and it can slow you down on a very time-critical test. Some students get anxious before tests, so if knowing that you’ve done everything reasonably possible to prepare can give less stress and a better night’s sleep beforehand, that is worth something. I know this will be a factor for my younger, type A, child.</p>
<p>Confidence comes from relying on an adequate preparation and knowing what to expect. From this thread, it is evident that some remain confused about what an adequate preparation entails. Hence the lacking opinions based on a faulty understanding of the test and it’s contents.</p>
<p>I’m going to leave this argument at a difference of opinion. I started these posts not to insist that everyone should study vocab but to refute that exact suggestion which was made by another poster. My suggestion was not to jump into it blindly but to consider the OP’s individual case, look at where he is losing points on a practice test, and to acknowledge that the expected gains in SAT score from studying vocab lists are pretty small, and that for most students it is not the best use of time. </p>
<p>My opinion is just an opinion, based on my own long-ago experience and from advising my daughter, and from casual observations regarding a few other kids. I don’t claim to be an expert on SAT test prep. But I do have a 100% success rate in producing NMSF so far. YMMV.</p>
<p>Op,
I have not read all of the responses.
But basically, to get a high score on the PSAT he needs to answer all questions and get practically every question correct.</p>
<p>If he does not answer a question, he gets 1 point off. If he guesses the answer, but it is incorrect, he gets 1.25 point off. If he guesses the answer, but it is correct, he gets 0 points off. But clearly, he still loses 1 point if he does not answer a question. Statistically, since there is 5 options available, if he can eliminate 1 answer (or more), then he should guess, since his odds are .25 that he will get it correct based on probability which balances the .25 off that he loses if it’s incorrect. If he cannot eliminate a single answer, then his probability of getting the answer correct is .20 but if he misses, he loses .25, so it’s usually advised to not guess if he cannot eliminate even 1 incorrect answer. For most kids whose GPA is 4.25, they would be able to eliminate 1 answer, so basically, he should answer every single question.
Now that he knows, he won’t make that mistake anymore.
That’s standard PSAT/SAT prep stuff that is explained everywhere. </p>
<p>I don’t know the exact correlation, but for every omitted (or incorrect answer) his PSAT score will go down by 2-5 points. So yes, by omitting 38 questions, his score could easily be 150 out of 240.</p>