PSAT scores/National Merit

[Anonymous]

My child did poorly in the reading section, she received a 610,

That's about 90th percentile, that's not "poorly" ffs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child did poorly in the reading section, she received a 610, while a 740 on math section. Any suggestions on how to improve?

does you child read a lot for pleasure? if not then start with that, classics, not easy reading material.

What???

That doesn't relate to what the SAT tests. SAT tests for specific interpretations of short passages, basically reverse engineering the "five paragraph essay" format.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"How is the Selection Index calculated?
The Selection Index is double the sum of your Reading and Writing (RW) score, and Math score divided by 10. Alternatively, you can simply drop the last zero on your section scores, double the RW and add the Math. For example, a student with scores of 690 RW and 720 M would have a Selection Index of 69 x 2 + 72 = 210. You cannot directly calculate a Selection Index from a Total Score (320 – 1520). For students entering the competition with an SAT score through Alternate Entry, note that — when calculating a Selection Index — each SAT section is capped at 760. If, for example, you have a 700 RW and 800 Math, your Selection Index would be 70 x2 + 76 = 216."
https://www.compassprep.com/psat-national-merit-faq/

So it's gender biased. They count the RW double to give the girls an advantage.

Why would they need to do that? I thought girls are doing much better than boys at school? Shouldn't the boys get a leg-up instead?

Surely a boy can learn to read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

My child did poorly in the reading section, she received a 610,

That's about 90th percentile, that's not "poorly" ffs.

DP here. But actually the OP corrected it to 510. But even with a 610 the competition is so high, a 610 is pretty poor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At least in years past, you would get a notice that you fell in the top percentages, but you didn’t know if you were a finalist until the fall of senior year.

That's because to progress from semi-finalist and finalist, you need to have grades and SAT score that "validates" that the PSAT score wasn't a fluke or a cheat. 90% of semifinalists progress to finalist

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"How is the Selection Index calculated?
The Selection Index is double the sum of your Reading and Writing (RW) score, and Math score divided by 10. Alternatively, you can simply drop the last zero on your section scores, double the RW and add the Math. For example, a student with scores of 690 RW and 720 M would have a Selection Index of 69 x 2 + 72 = 210. You cannot directly calculate a Selection Index from a Total Score (320 – 1520). For students entering the competition with an SAT score through Alternate Entry, note that — when calculating a Selection Index — each SAT section is capped at 760. If, for example, you have a 700 RW and 800 Math, your Selection Index would be 70 x2 + 76 = 216."
https://www.compassprep.com/psat-national-merit-faq/

So it's gender biased. They count the RW double to give the girls an advantage.

Why would they need to do that? I thought girls are doing much better than boys at school? Shouldn't the boys get a leg-up instead?

Surely a boy can learn to read.

I don't know who you are, but thank you.

[Anonymous]

Hi are there two different PSATs? I have a 10th grader who took the PSAT last month, but I was told by another parent that there is another PSAT next year( 11th grade? I was of the understanding that was when they took the SAT?) if true which of these scores are also for the National merit? Thank you.( first child in the US educational system so have lots to learn)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

My child did poorly in the reading section, she received a 610,

That's about 90th percentile, that's not "poorly" ffs.

DP here. But actually the OP corrected it to 510. But even with a 610 the competition is so high, a 610 is pretty poor.

No, it's not "pretty poor." It's 90th percentile. Do you know what 90th percentile means? Even a 510 is 63rd percentile.

https://research.collegeboard.org/reports/sat...sqt/user-percentiles

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi are there two different PSATs? I have a 10th grader who took the PSAT last month, but I was told by another parent that there is another PSAT next year( 11th grade? I was of the understanding that was when they took the SAT?) if true which of these scores are also for the National merit? Thank you.( first child in the US educational system so have lots to learn)

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but 11th grade Fall PSAT is for the national merit. Students typically take the SAT starting in Spring of 11th. PSAT in Fall of 10th is basically for practice.

[Anonymous]

Guessing 218 index score is not likely high enough for semifinalist status in MD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi are there two different PSATs? I have a 10th grader who took the PSAT last month, but I was told by another parent that there is another PSAT next year( 11th grade? I was of the understanding that was when they took the SAT?) if true which of these scores are also for the National merit? Thank you.( first child in the US educational system so have lots to learn)

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but 11th grade Fall PSAT is for the national merit. Students typically take the SAT starting in Spring of 11th. PSAT in Fall of 10th is basically for practice.

Is the psat in 10 grade the same test as the psat in 11th grade, in terms of rigor and type of questions?

[Anonymous]

Last year's qualifying scores listed here, around page 13.
221 for MD, 219 for VA and 223 for DC.
Apparently won't announce qualifying scores for this year's juniors for sometime.
https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/images/g...am.pdf?gid=2&pgid=61

[Anonymous]

Are you guys logging into your kids account or waiting for them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Guessing 218 index score is not likely high enough for semifinalist status in MD?

Nope. Is usually 222 or 223

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last year's qualifying scores listed here, around page 13.
221 for MD, 219 for VA and 223 for DC.
Apparently won't announce qualifying scores for this year's juniors for sometime.
https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/images/g...am.pdf?gid=2&pgid=61

I don’t understand why there is a single national cutoff score for a test that calls itself National Merit.