<p>My daughter has only been practicing on the SAT practice tests for the upcoming PSAT to try and qualify for National Merit. Is this okay or should she be practicing on the PSAT practice tests? I didn't even know they existed until today...:)
thank you!</p>
<p>There’s not really much difference other than the format of the test. Also, there is no essay and the math is slightly lower-level on PSAT. So it should be fine.</p>
<p>thank you! what is the difference in the format?</p>
<p>The test is shorter. Every mistake is costlier than on the SAT. </p>
<p>You should have received a practice package at your school. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Here’s a link for an immediate download:
<a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/psat-nmsqt-student-guide.pdf[/url]”>Higher Education Professionals | College Board;
<p>Here’s a link to the answers:
[2013</a> PSAT/NMSQT Practice Test Explanations](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Studying and Practicing for the PSAT/NMSQT – SAT Suite)</p>
<p>And something that might help you:
<a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/official-educator-guide-to-the-psat-nmsqt.pdf[/url]”>Higher Education Professionals | College Board;
<p>Thank you for all of the information. </p>
<p>1) I didn’t see an actual test in the download…it looks like it’s hard to find online–any suggestions would be appreciated. She’s homeschooled so we never recieved one.</p>
<p>2) Her last sat practice from the college board book was 710 in writing, 780 reading, and 670 in math. If she keeps practicing out of this book she should do fine on the sat right? Obviously we are trying to get the scores up for NM, would it help to find the practice PSAT test?
Thank you so much for your help!</p>
<p>Yes, I need one too. School didn’t have any.</p>
<p>Plenty are floating around the web. Here are 2011 and 2012</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.genevaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2011-Practice-Test.pdf[/url]”>http://www.genevaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2011-Practice-Test.pdf</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.genevaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2012-PSAT-Practice-Test.pdf[/url]”>http://www.genevaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2012-PSAT-Practice-Test.pdf</a></p>
<p>And 2010
<a href=“http://www.genevaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2010-Practice-Test.pdf[/url]”>http://www.genevaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2010-Practice-Test.pdf</a></p>
<p>Practicing the SAT for taking the PSAT is like practicing football against a team of 13 so the actual team of 11 on game night isn’t as bad. In other words, it’s a Good Thing. Might I recommend fitting in at least, say, one actual PSAT to help understand the latter’s slightly different format/level?</p>
<p>Make sure you do at least a couple timed practice PSAT tests as the timing is different from SAT. As one pointed out, each mistake is more costly than in SAT. There is really little room for careless mistakes.</p>
<p>Here is an edited version of an article I wrote on the differences between the SAT and PSAT (some content had to be deleted to comply with CC’s rules):</p>
<p>(deleted content)</p>
<p>First, did you know that the “P” in PSAT stands for preliminary? Most people incorrectly think that it stands for practice. </p>
<p>Also, almost twice the number of test takers take the PSAT compared to the SAT. This is because the PSAT determines eligibility and qualification for the National Merit Scholarship Program.</p>
<p>In addition to College Board Blue Book tests, almost all of my students take the PSAT to gauge how well they are going to do on the SAT. There are a few major differences between the PSAT and the SAT and this post will shed some light on these differences.</p>
<pre><code>Test Length and Structure
</code></pre>
<p>The PSAT consists of 5 sections. There are two 25 minute reading sections, two 25 minute math sections, and one 30 minute writing section. This gives a total testing time of 2(25) + 2(25) + 30 = 130 minutes, or 2 hours and 10 minutes. If we add in the 5 minute break after section 2 and the 1 minute break after section 4 we get a total time of 2 hours and 16 minutes from the beginning to the end of the test.</p>
<p>The SAT is much, much, much longer than the PSAT. It consist of 10 sections – that’s right, double the amount that is on the PSAT. There is one 25 minute essay, one 25 minute writing section, one 10 minute writing section, two 25 minute reading sections, one 20 minute reading section, two 25 minute math sections, one 20 minute math section, and one 25 minute experimental section which may be reading or math. This gives a total testing time of 7(25) + 2(20) + 10 = 225 minutes, or 3 hours and 45 minutes. If we add in the three 5 minute breaks, we get a total time of 4 hours from the beginning to the end of the test.</p>
<p>So although the PSAT is supposed to prepare you for the SAT, one thing that it definitely does NOT prepare you for is the amount of endurance necessary to get through the SAT. The SAT is the first, and maybe only test that you will ever take that requires this kind of time commitment. Fatigue alone can be responsible for causing a decrease in score from your PSAT to your SAT.</p>
<pre><code>Scoring
</code></pre>
<p>The PSAT is graded out of 240 points with each of reading, writing and math consisting of a total of 80 points.</p>
<p>The SAT is graded out of 2400 points with each of reading, writing and math consisting of a total of 800 points.</p>
<p>So you can essentially convert your PSAT score to the corresponding SAT score by tacking on an extra zero at the end.</p>
<p>This is not entirely accurate however.</p>
<p>In other words, suppose a student were to score a 50 in math on their PSAT. Does that mean that if they had taken the SAT instead that day that they would have scored a 500? The answer in general is no – they most likely would have scored a bit lower than that. A rough estimate is about 5% lower.</p>
<p>So, in other words, after taking your PSAT, to get your approximate SAT score tack on a zero to the end, and take away 5 percent. This is equivalent to multiplying your PSAT score by 9.5.</p>
<p>For example, a student that scored 170 on their PSAT would have received approximately 170(9.5) = 1615 on their SAT. Of course 1615 is not actually a possible SAT score, but again, this is just a rough estimate.</p>
<p>Note that there is no statistical data to support the accuracy of this computation. After all, nobody takes a PSAT and an SAT on the same day. This is just my own personal way of estimating what I believe is happening.</p>
<p>Other than “the missing zero” all other aspects of scoring the PSAT and the SAT are the same. Multiple choice questions and grid ins are handled the same way, and the raw score is computed in the same fashion. (deleted content).</p>
<p>Just one comment on the scaled score – although for most students the scaled score is handled almost identically on both the PSAT and SAT, the strongest students may be penalized a bit more heavily on the PSAT. For example just one wrong question on the math section of the PSAT could drop your scaled score down 5 points. This could really hurt if you are applying for a National Merit Scholarship.</p>
<pre><code>Material Covered
</code></pre>
<p>Almost all of the topics covered on the PSAT and SAT are identical. The only exception is a few math concepts that are left out of the PSAT. These concepts are not put on the PSAT because a large percentage of students have not yet covered these topics in school by October of their junior year (which is when most students take the PSAT).</p>
<p>The topics that are left off of the PSAT mostly pertain to functions and their graphs. These are topics that are generally introduced in Algebra 2.</p>
<p>The SAT also has one type of section that the PSAT does not – the essay. Students do NOT have to write an essay on the PSAT, but on the SAT this is one of the 10 sections.</p>
<pre><code>Final Note
</code></pre>
<p>As mentioned in the section on scoring above, if you decide to take your SAT without any preparation, then it is more likely that your score will go down about 5% from your PSAT than go up. So whether you use a tutor, take a prep course, or prepare on your own, please prepare. With good preparation you can show a significant increase in score from your PSAT to your SAT.</p>