PSAT scores are out, how did your 10th grader score on it vs. SAT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It showed up for my DC in APS today through the CollegeBoard site.

There was a huge discrepancy between reading/writing(95-99%) and math (not near the upper 90s). I know there is a lot of content still to be learned in math class this year. Is Khan Academy helpful? How do you know if more prep is needed or not?

The actual SATs are in spring of 11th grade, right?

Also, I see that people mention ACT and SAT highlight different strengths. Which one is better for the strong reader/writer?

Best advice I got on this (I have a current high school senior) was to prep and take the test either summer before 11th or fall of 11th. DC did test prep in the summer, took it in August, got their score which was strong but not what they wanted. Took the PSAT without any further prep and got commended, redid the test prep and took the test again in the spring at school. Ended with a 1490 and was done. Now applying to schools. The only additional thing I wish DC had done was sign up to tat the SAT when it was given generally two weeks after the school SAT. Some of DC's friends did that and their second spring SAT was their best score. DC knows that some people would have done it again looking for the 1500, but they were done and we left it totally up to them. DC is a strong reader and has a near perfect verbal in that score. I think that it is worthwhile to take both tests to see. I do not think DC tried the ACT and maybe should have. The equivalent score to a 1490 is a 34, and that look a little better than a 1490 because DC just missed the 1500 cut off.

Thank you. I appreciate the advice.

[Anonymous]

Also, I see that people mention ACT and SAT highlight different strengths. Which one is better for the strong reader/writer?

Conventional wisdom is that strong readers/writers tend to do better on ACT, as long as timing is not a problem for them. The ACT science section is essentially another reading comprehension section, which favors kids who excel at that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Also, I see that people mention ACT and SAT highlight different strengths. Which one is better for the strong reader/writer?

Conventional wisdom is that strong readers/writers tend to do better on ACT, as long as timing is not a problem for them. The ACT science section is essentially another reading comprehension section, which favors kids who excel at that.

The other difference I have heard noted is the ACT is more questions so better for kid who can get through a lot more quickly where SAT is deeper but doesn't feel as rushed bc not as many questions but questions can be harder. So kids who "always finish early" may favor the ACT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PSAT October 10th grade-1390
SAT August of 11th grade (first time)- 1500
PSAT October of 11th grade-1470
DC wants to take SAT one more time

How was your child offered the PSAT in 10th grade?

I thought it was only for students in the fall of junior year?

Fairfax County Public Schools offer it to 10th and 11th graders (at least I assume since this is how it’s done at DC’s HS)

There is no advantage to taking in 10th. Wait till 11th if you think your kid has any chance of merit finalist.

NP. The advantage of taking it in 10th is to get an idea of where the student stands and to have simple experience taking the test. Neither is crucial, but there's nothing wrong with taking the test in both 10th and 11th. Most people take it cold in 10th.

You get two shots at merit finalist? Anyway student should really be taking mock tests in both ACT and SAT in sophomore year to decide which test to prep for. No need to take psat.

I am the PP you responded to. To clarify, NO, you do not get two shots at National Merit. The 10th grade test is just for practice and to see where you stand. Many high schools allow 10th graders to take the PSAT/NMSQT for those reasons - practice and to see where they're at - even though 10th graders cannot qualify for National Merit. There is no downside to taking it in 10th if the high school allows.

As stated above, for 10th grade, most would be taking the PSAT cold. There is no need to start prepping for ACT/SAT until the few months prior to their actual ACT/SAT test date. As an aside, I would highly recommend waiting until summer after 10th grade for any test prep, as being far more efficient than grinding for a year or more.

[Anonymous]

Any chance the index might drop a little this year? ACT scores were down nationwide as a post Covid effect. My dC got a 220 index sigh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Also, I see that people mention ACT and SAT highlight different strengths. Which one is better for the strong reader/writer?

Conventional wisdom is that strong readers/writers tend to do better on ACT, as long as timing is not a problem for them. The ACT science section is essentially another reading comprehension section, which favors kids who excel at that.

The other difference I have heard noted is the ACT is more questions so better for kid who can get through a lot more quickly where SAT is deeper but doesn't feel as rushed bc not as many questions but questions can be harder. So kids who "always finish early" may favor the ACT.

My DD seems to favor the ACT and has always scored the highest on reading comprehension on any standardized test. Her mock ACT score with no prep (28) was equivalent to a 1310 SAT (so they say) whereas her PSAT score was 150 points lower (no prep due to some medical issues). She is going forward with ACT prep tutoring for the April exam, and kissing the SAT goodbye.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PSAT October 10th grade-1390
SAT August of 11th grade (first time)- 1500
PSAT October of 11th grade-1470
DC wants to take SAT one more time

How was your child offered the PSAT in 10th grade?

I thought it was only for students in the fall of junior year?

Fairfax County Public Schools offer it to 10th and 11th graders (at least I assume since this is how it’s done at DC’s HS)

There is no advantage to taking in 10th. Wait till 11th if you think your kid has any chance of merit finalist.

NP. The advantage of taking it in 10th is to get an idea of where the student stands and to have simple experience taking the test. Neither is crucial, but there's nothing wrong with taking the test in both 10th and 11th. Most people take it cold in 10th.

You get two shots at merit finalist? Anyway student should really be taking mock tests in both ACT and SAT in sophomore year to decide which test to prep for. No need to take psat.

I am the PP you responded to. To clarify, NO, you do not get two shots at National Merit. The 10th grade test is just for practice and to see where you stand. Many high schools allow 10th graders to take the PSAT/NMSQT for those reasons - practice and to see where they're at - even though 10th graders cannot qualify for National Merit. There is no downside to taking it in 10th if the high school allows.

As stated above, for 10th grade, most would be taking the PSAT cold. There is no need to start prepping for ACT/SAT until the few months prior to their actual ACT/SAT test date. As an aside, I would highly recommend waiting until summer after 10th grade for any test prep, as being far more efficient than grinding for a year or more.

tell me what you mean by waiting until the summer after 10th grade. Break down the timeline of when you think they should prep and ideally when they should take the SAT and or ACT. Many thanks. I’m asking because my kid wants to take honors pre-Calc the summer after 10th grade so that then they can take AP Calc during 11th grade but I think studying for the SAT and taking pre-Calc during the summer After 10th grade might be a bit much. They need some time to relax too!

[Anonymous]

By some miracle, 10th grade DS taking the test cold achieved a perfect score of 1520. Please forgive my ignorance (first kid), but is this a valid enough predictor for next year’s PSAT (when it actually counts for National Merit) and SAT that he can completely forgo test prep? I would really love to save the money, but don’t wish to sandbag my kid relative to his peers who will be taking boot camps and such this summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:By some miracle, 10th grade DS taking the test cold achieved a perfect score of 1520. Please forgive my ignorance (first kid), but is this a valid enough predictor for next year’s PSAT (when it actually counts for National Merit) and SAT that he can completely forgo test prep? I would really love to save the money, but don’t wish to sandbag my kid relative to his peers who will be taking boot camps and such this summer.

I would have him take a mock test again at the end of the year. If the results are similar and he doesn’t care about a perfect score, I think you’re good. Just keep in mind that at that level one question can change your score. If he falls short of what is needed for NMSF on the mock, I’d prep. But that doesn’t have to be boot camp. Might just be a couple hours with a tutor for strategy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Also, I see that people mention ACT and SAT highlight different strengths. Which one is better for the strong reader/writer?

Conventional wisdom is that strong readers/writers tend to do better on ACT, as long as timing is not a problem for them. The ACT science section is essentially another reading comprehension section, which favors kids who excel at that.

The other difference I have heard noted is the ACT is more questions so better for kid who can get through a lot more quickly where SAT is deeper but doesn't feel as rushed bc not as many questions but questions can be harder. So kids who "always finish early" may favor the ACT.

I will add if your kid has the accommodation of extended time, ACT tends to be the better test. My DS, who had extended time, got a 36 on the ACT test (this was a few years ago). His first mock test he took un-prepped at the end of 10th grade and scored a 33, so we knew a perfect score was not out of the realm of possibilities. He took the test one time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By some miracle, 10th grade DS taking the test cold achieved a perfect score of 1520. Please forgive my ignorance (first kid), but is this a valid enough predictor for next year’s PSAT (when it actually counts for National Merit) and SAT that he can completely forgo test prep? I would really love to save the money, but don’t wish to sandbag my kid relative to his peers who will be taking boot camps and such this summer.

I would have him take a mock test again at the end of the year. If the results are similar and he doesn’t care about a perfect score, I think you’re good. Just keep in mind that at that level one question can change your score. If he falls short of what is needed for NMSF on the mock, I’d prep. But that doesn’t have to be boot camp. Might just be a couple hours with a tutor for strategy.

Isn't 1520 a perfect score?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By some miracle, 10th grade DS taking the test cold achieved a perfect score of 1520. Please forgive my ignorance (first kid), but is this a valid enough predictor for next year’s PSAT (when it actually counts for National Merit) and SAT that he can completely forgo test prep? I would really love to save the money, but don’t wish to sandbag my kid relative to his peers who will be taking boot camps and such this summer.

I would have him take a mock test again at the end of the year. If the results are similar and he doesn’t care about a perfect score, I think you’re good. Just keep in mind that at that level one question can change your score. If he falls short of what is needed for NMSF on the mock, I’d prep. But that doesn’t have to be boot camp. Might just be a couple hours with a tutor for strategy.

Isn't 1520 a perfect score?

Yes. As explained, I’d take it again in spring to see if can be replicated. At that high level, scores can easily go down with a simple error. He will likely need to prep if he is someone who wants a perfect score on the actual SAT. If simply amazing is adequate, I’d still do the one practice before the psat to ensure still on path to nmsf.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By some miracle, 10th grade DS taking the test cold achieved a perfect score of 1520. Please forgive my ignorance (first kid), but is this a valid enough predictor for next year’s PSAT (when it actually counts for National Merit) and SAT that he can completely forgo test prep? I would really love to save the money, but don’t wish to sandbag my kid relative to his peers who will be taking boot camps and such this summer.

I would have him take a mock test again at the end of the year. If the results are similar and he doesn’t care about a perfect score, I think you’re good. Just keep in mind that at that level one question can change your score. If he falls short of what is needed for NMSF on the mock, I’d prep. But that doesn’t have to be boot camp. Might just be a couple hours with a tutor for strategy.

Do you mean a mock PSAT or a mock SAT, or both? Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PSAT October 10th grade-1390
SAT August of 11th grade (first time)- 1500
PSAT October of 11th grade-1470
DC wants to take SAT one more time

How was your child offered the PSAT in 10th grade?

I thought it was only for students in the fall of junior year?

Fairfax County Public Schools offer it to 10th and 11th graders (at least I assume since this is how it’s done at DC’s HS)

There is no advantage to taking in 10th. Wait till 11th if you think your kid has any chance of merit finalist.

NP. The advantage of taking it in 10th is to get an idea of where the student stands and to have simple experience taking the test. Neither is crucial, but there's nothing wrong with taking the test in both 10th and 11th. Most people take it cold in 10th.

You get two shots at merit finalist? Anyway student should really be taking mock tests in both ACT and SAT in sophomore year to decide which test to prep for. No need to take psat.

I am the PP you responded to. To clarify, NO, you do not get two shots at National Merit. The 10th grade test is just for practice and to see where you stand. Many high schools allow 10th graders to take the PSAT/NMSQT for those reasons - practice and to see where they're at - even though 10th graders cannot qualify for National Merit. There is no downside to taking it in 10th if the high school allows.

As stated above, for 10th grade, most would be taking the PSAT cold. There is no need to start prepping for ACT/SAT until the few months prior to their actual ACT/SAT test date. As an aside, I would highly recommend waiting until summer after 10th grade for any test prep, as being far more efficient than grinding for a year or more.

tell me what you mean by waiting until the summer after 10th grade. Break down the timeline of when you think they should prep and ideally when they should take the SAT and or ACT. Many thanks. I’m asking because my kid wants to take honors pre-Calc the summer after 10th grade so that then they can take AP Calc during 11th grade but I think studying for the SAT and taking pre-Calc during the summer After 10th grade might be a bit much. They need some time to relax too!

With the caveat that it's hard to give one size fits all answers, ideally, prep summer after 10th grade for a test date August or October of junior year.

No need to take official tests of both ACT and SAT. Take official practice tests at home and then decide which one to prep for.

I would NOT suggest precalc over the summer. There is no bonus in college admissions for getting to calc by junior year of high school. Take precalc junior year and calc senior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By some miracle, 10th grade DS taking the test cold achieved a perfect score of 1520. Please forgive my ignorance (first kid), but is this a valid enough predictor for next year’s PSAT (when it actually counts for National Merit) and SAT that he can completely forgo test prep? I would really love to save the money, but don’t wish to sandbag my kid relative to his peers who will be taking boot camps and such this summer.

I would have him take a mock test again at the end of the year. If the results are similar and he doesn’t care about a perfect score, I think you’re good. Just keep in mind that at that level one question can change your score. If he falls short of what is needed for NMSF on the mock, I’d prep. But that doesn’t have to be boot camp. Might just be a couple hours with a tutor for strategy.

Do you mean a mock PSAT or a mock SAT, or both? Thanks again!

I’d do a mock SAT