We moved here from out of state, where my DC started taking the PSAT in 8th grade. He happens to test really well (though school grades and ECs are pretty average), so he has been bombarded with invitations for "talented youth" summer programs (one of which he participated in) and has been getting college marketing materials since 9th grade.

I don't know if any of this has any benefit for college applications, as he is a junior now. Just sharing what we've experienced.

My student was offered it this year as a 9th grader in MCPS, but is unsure of where to register.

My sophomore is taking the PSAT at their private school this year. The school is having all the students take it. I don’t know if it is just for practice or if they will do something with the results. It seems early to me but I’m just going along with the program.

Anonymous wrote:What is correlation to SAT score - example PP said 222 for her kid. What is the SAT equivalent score?

The 222 is the selection index.

How is the Selection Index calculated?
The Selection Index is double the sum of your Reading, Writing and Language, and Math Test Scores. For example, a student with scores of 34, 35, and 36 would have a Selection Index of (34+35+36)x2 = 210. Most students remember their section scores (160–760) rather than their 8–38 test scores. The Selection Index is still easy to calculate. First, ignore the final zero in your scores; then double your ERW score; then add your Math score. For example, a student with an ERW score of 690 and a Math score of 720 would have a Selection Index of (69)x2 + 72 = 210. The two methods will always work because of the fixed relationship between test scores and section scores. 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 ERW and 800 Math, your Selection Index would be (70)x2 + 76 = 216.

https://www.compassprep.com/psat-national-merit-faq/

What is correlation to SAT score - example PP said 222 for her kid. What is the SAT equivalent score?

[quote=Anonymous]PSAT/NMSQT/NMS is a lottery scam, with a regulatory capture mixin, right?

Collect $100 for every student, and give out a few $2500 scholarships. [/quote]

For many the scholarship offer turns out not to be useful. You have to designate a recipient school prior to getting final acceptances. This means you either have to designate a school you’re pretty sure you’ll get into and forgo a place at a better but riskier school that you’ll go to if you get in or you have to designate the risky school and if you don’t get into that, then there’s no scholarship.

The money and time is not worth it unless you are already close to the cutoff and don’t have to do a lot of extra prep for the PSAT.

I’d prefer to see kids money and time go to SAT prep and I’d prefer to see kids do SAT prep at the end of their sophomore summer/start of jr. fall. The idea that a student should take PSAT as a junior and use that to prep for SAT pushes prep into the school year when kids are busy with sports and homework and SAT gets pushed into spring of junior year when many advanced students are also taking APs or IB exams.

You can pull practice PSATs to take and score for free on Kahn Academy any time. KA used to have a function where you could enter this data and get prep recs. Not sure if you can still do this independently of the real PSAT results (haven’t looked lately).

PSAT/NMSQT/NMS is a lottery scam, with a regulatory capture mixin, right?

Collect $100 for every student, and give out a few $2500 scholarships.

Anonymous wrote:They offer to 8th graders now

Not at our school.

They offer to 8th graders now

My kid took psat in 9th, 10th and 11th. He linked his collegeboard psat results to his khan Academy account and got a detailed analysis of the results and a targeted study guide.

My kid is an nms scholar.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. There is no reason to take it in 9th grade. What purpose would that serve?

There’s really no reason to take if in 11th grade either unless you have taken a practice test and are reasonably close enough to the NMSQT qualifying cut off score for your state. If that’s the case, then it's worth it to prep for PSAT.

What's the NMSQT cutoff score for Maryland?

It was 222 for Class of 2023, so probably that plus or minus a point.

Cutoffs vary by state. Google for more info.

Anonymous wrote:No. There is no reason to take it in 9th grade. What purpose would that serve?

There’s really no reason to take if in 11th grade either unless you have taken a practice test and are reasonably close enough to the NMSQT qualifying cut off score for your state. If that’s the case, then it's worth it to prep for PSAT.

The PSAT can also provide a baseline for SAT prep. You can use Khan Academy to create a self-paced prep curriculum based on the sub-scores from the PSAT.

And if they totally bomb it, then they'll know well in advance that test-optional will likely be the way to go. They can focus their energies on raising their GPA, taking challenging coursework, and participating in meaningful extracurriculars.

Most places the PSAT is given during the school day, and some school systems even pay for it. So there's no harm in taking it in 11th (or even 10th), if only so your student can get a sense of what their approach to testing and prep should be over the next year or two.

Anonymous wrote:No. There is no reason to take it in 9th grade. What purpose would that serve?

There’s really no reason to take if in 11th grade either unless you have taken a practice test and are reasonably close enough to the NMSQT qualifying cut off score for your state. If that’s the case, then it's worth it to prep for PSAT.

What's the NMSQT cutoff score for Maryland?

No. There is no reason to take it in 9th grade. What purpose would that serve?

There’s really no reason to take if in 11th grade either unless you have taken a practice test and are reasonably close enough to the NMSQT qualifying cut off score for your state. If that’s the case, then it's worth it to prep for PSAT.

can you take it in 9th grade? Do you recommend it in 9th grade?