Was the PSAT test harder or easier this year?

Test Preparation
1

<p>I'm hearing mixed reviews on this site. I want to know if the cutoff score for National Merit is more likely to be higher or lower this year. And btw I live in Arizona and I got a 212. Based on this year's difficulty, am I likely to be a semifinalist? I know what the cutoff scores were for my state so I need to know what everyone thought of the test so that I can make an accurate prediction and be able to breathe until September.</p>

2

<p>I would say higher, since the curve obviously got much worse. </p>

<p>I would guess a 2-3 point increase at worst and probably 1-2 points.</p>

3

<p>Wait, don’t you mean lower since the curve was worse?</p>

4

<p>I don’t know about this year, but last year cut off scores dropped significantly across the board, including in my own state which was a huge relief. Because they were so low last year, I don’t know if they’d drop much more so if the test was hard, this year’s results will probably be similar.</p>

5

<p>Hey I got a 212 too. We might get commended…I don’t know if Arizona is different though. I’m from Virginia.</p>

6

<p>@Korean</p>

<p>From what I know…</p>

<p>Easier test = higher raw scores</p>

<p>They balance out the raw scores with two methods: harsher curve + higher cutoff.</p>

<p>That is what I would assume; it doesn’t seem logical that they would only do one possible method of normalization (why change 1 in a large manner vs. 2 factors in a smaller manner?).</p>

7

<p>bump. I wish I could change the title of the thread. I wish it would say “Predictions for National Merit cutoff Class of 2014” so it would look more interesting.</p>

<p>My SAT teacher told me that he heard from a few reliable sources that the cutoff will be lower this year and he even heard that the cutoff for AZ will be 209. But I have no idea how anyone would know the solid cutoff line for this year so idk how reliable his “sources” are. Although I did ask a couple people I know what their predictions are and they all said lower. That’s what I’m hoping too but it would be nice to hear what everyone has to say about it.</p>