PSAT results came out
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Anonymous
That is interesting. My junior also took the SAT this past Sat and found it much harder than the Oct Psat! |
Anonymous
Also does not matter if your kid is at a private. There is a single cut score for all of DC. |
Anonymous
Same with my junior...and her PSAT just came back, not good. Not good at all. |
Anonymous
| Feeling glum about sophomore DD scores-1160. GPA 3.89 UW at competitive private. I’d much rather the high GPA but still can’t help being disappointed. Just not a good test taker. |
Anonymous
DP here. There was no skewing the scores at all because alternate route scores do not determine the cutoffs. The cutoffs are always determined using PSAT scores. So at best you are misinformed. In fact, MD cutoff for NMSF actually rose and is the highest in the country and thus became harder to get into. https://www.compassprep.com/psat-national-merit-faq/ This is how it works - PSAT first takes the top 50K students globally to make them "Commended Scholars". This is the base. Then the have fixed quotas for each state depending on its size and they take fixed numbers of top scorers from that state (all of them higher or at the commended scholar scores) and that is how the cut off for each state is determined for NMSF. Total number of NMSF is around 16K. The alternate route students are not even considered when setting up state cutoffs. NMSC only looks at the PSAT scores to determine the cutoffs. If there was a global conspiracy and only less high achieving students took the PSAT and all brilliant students held back, then the cutoff would be very low. Then all the brilliant students could come via the alternate route and also get in. But why would a brilliant student want to hold back and let less brilliant student also get this honor? So as you see, there was no skewing of the PSAT scores. On the other hand, contrary to the cynical person who had some cockamamie theory - PSAT cutoffs in MD only rose higher. Which means that more and more, highest achieving students are trying to differentiate themselves in a climate where standardized tests are going away. PSAT cut offs rose in MD, and all the alternate route students (obviously those who could score well on SAT and were willing to report their SAT scores to college) were successfully able to meet those high criteria. I can bet if in future NMSF MD cutoff becomes 38, 38, 38...there will be enough kids who will meet this threshold too. As for who benefited by the alternate route this year? Probably, it was the bright B+ student in MD who took the PSAT and got a spot because majority of top scorers only used the alternate route (which does not have a quota). My kid's magnet school had 30+ students who actually remembered to register for the alternate route. Out of 250+ graduating seniors, around 80 scored 1570 and above. And many who scored 35 in ACT. These kids simply did not enter the NMSF but would have qualified hands down. So more kids missed the opportunity to enter into NMSF from our school. Also, these 30+ students did not take a spot from the MD quota, so the number of MD NMSF increased. There are more super high performers than seats for MD NMSF. |
Anonymous
SAT is not easier than PSAT. It is the same test, except, PSAT has less content than SAT. It has less content because PSAT is taken in the beginning of the 11th grade and it is assumed that students will learn more in school by the time they sit for the SAT. This is the reason that PSAT has less content and it is therefore scored out of less points (instead of out of 1600). PSAT is a very good predictor of your SAT. If you took a PSAT and got 1400 on it, it just means that taking a SAT on the same day, you would have scored the same. |
Anonymous
Feeling glum? Why? Her scores can only get better. Link the collegeboard account to Khan Academy. It is just a button on collegeboard account that you have to click. Khan Academy will evaluate her PSAT scores and performance instantly and create a study plan based on which areas she is weak in. I am an old, old hand in all kinds of supplementation and enrichment for my kids - self-teaching, books, academic camps, tutors, prep companies, online packages etc - there is nothing that I have not used and auditioned. I am an extremely savvy consumer as far as education is concerned. I can assure you that the best and most useful resource for your kid's SAT prep is Khan Academy. The real shame is that not many use it. 1160 for a sophomore means that you need to give her the right support. Please don't waste your money on the expensive prep companies. Go to Khan Academy and make her work on her personalized and interactive plan. |
Anonymous
Try ACT instead. My student got a 1200 or so (may have been less) on the PSAT but got 34 on ACT. Never bothered to take SAT. ACT is a different style of test and may play on your child’s strengths. Also, your child will prep so score will go up. |
Anonymous
Just look on college board site -- there's a tab that shows you index. But you won't know whether it's a qualifying score until Sept. Basically. if DC's verbal was higher than math, s/he has a better shot than if math was higher than verbal because verbal is counted twice (reading & writing) |
Anonymous
NP. Thank you PP for this advice. My DS is a sophomore and was hoping to take the SAT this August after summer study. Scored 1390 and I think he was worried because his older friends say 1500+ is needed for UVA. I’ll tell him to link his scores to Khan academy as suggested. |
Anonymous
| My TJ 10th grader took the test and scored 1400. I thought this is pretty good since it is 99% already, but he said he is among the lowest in his class ... Poor kiddo ... |
Anonymous
Hi PP, I'm not the poster you're replying to, but my sophomore DD has almost the same scores on the PSAT (1170). Unlike the PP, however, I'm not so disappointed. I'm surprised, because I thought she'd do better (her brother is a NMSF, and she's as smart, but doesn't do as well on tests.) I was leaning toward having her review this summer using Khan academy, but after hearing about her score, I was wondering if we should spring for a private prep company. You have pushed me back away from that temptation. I did not know about the button on the College board account to link to Khan Academy. THANK YOU! That sounds great. Since you are wise and experienced in all this, please advise us on another question. She has also taken a practice ACT, on which she scored much better compared to peers. (29 on ACT which their chart says is equivalent to an SAT of something in the 1300s.) I've read some advice that people should just choose one (ACT or SAT) and prepare for that one. But I also don't want my kids to spend their teenage summers doing test prep. (when I was in high school, we took the SAT without any prep other than maybe doing the sample practice test that came in the pamphlet.) Is it okay to choose one now based on this sophomore data? |
Anonymous
Same for my kid. 1300 on PSAT but 35 on ACT. |
Anonymous
| Many families start prepping for the TJ admissions test in early elementary school so I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn those same kids prepped early for the PSAT. |
Anonymous
You got the scores of PSAT, correct? Then you can know his NMSC number instantly. Take what he got for all the three sections (1 Math, 2 English). Add the three scores (out of 38 each) and multiply by 2. DC scores were from 224 to 223...so if you have above those numbers he is in NMS. https://www.compassprep.com/national-merit-semifinalist-cutoffs/ (For cutoffs) https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10/scores/understanding-scores PSAT and SAT scores are on collegeboard site. Log on to the account, the pages that show the scores, there are links for the DETAILS of the scores, click around and you will find it. |