Anonymous
Post 11/07/2025 08:09     Subject: PSAT
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Midwest apparently clueless mom here -- do kids study for the PSAT? My 10th grader didn't and I didn't really think this was a thing. Same as PP, 1330 and I feel like that is just fine.


Hi from another corner of the Midwest. I keep telling DMV people that people in the Midwest don't prep much. They don't seem to believe me. The incentives just aren't there because we have less competition to get into our good schools. Then on here we get to hear people yarning on about how dumb local kids must be at our flagships because of the SAT distributions.

My 11th grader refused to take a prep class. He has no time for a sustained test prep classroom experience due to multiple ECs taking all the available evening and weekend slots. His total score was same as in 10th grade. Unfortunately his verbal score went down so he will not make National Merit Commended with a total score exactly the same as his big brother.

I really don't know how to feel about it. Whether excellence is important for the sake of excellence. Or not to care about it because this is just a sham hoop-jumping exercise invented by bureaucrats. The older I get the more I lean towards the latter. Great scores and grades are less important than career planning, networking, and EQ.


PP here -- I know! It's a totally different vibe for sure. I didn't even know the PSATs were happening until my kid told me I needed to pick him up early from school. I thought it was another teacher work day until he told me he had taken the PSATs. His school pays whatever fee there is apparently as I told him I didn't recall sending $$ in and asked if I should have.
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2025 08:07     Subject: PSAT
Anonymous wrote:Midwest apparently clueless mom here -- do kids study for the PSAT? My 10th grader didn't and I didn't really think this was a thing. Same as PP, 1330 and I feel like that is just fine.


There’s really no point to studying for the 10th grade psat. The 11th grade one counts for National Merit, so it makes sense for a kid who was borderline for that on the 10th grade test to see if they can bump up there score on the 11th grade test.
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2025 08:06     Subject: PSAT
Anonymous wrote:Midwest apparently clueless mom here -- do kids study for the PSAT? My 10th grader didn't and I didn't really think this was a thing. Same as PP, 1330 and I feel like that is just fine.


Hi from another corner of the Midwest. I keep telling DMV people that people in the Midwest don't prep much. They don't seem to believe me. The incentives just aren't there because we have less competition to get into our good schools. Then on here we get to hear people yarning on about how dumb local kids must be at our flagships because of the SAT distributions.

My 11th grader refused to take a prep class. He has no time for a sustained test prep classroom experience due to multiple ECs taking all the available evening and weekend slots. His total score was same as in 10th grade. Unfortunately his verbal score went down so he will not make National Merit Commended with a total score exactly the same as his big brother.

I really don't know how to feel about it. Whether excellence is important for the sake of excellence. Or not to care about it because this is just a sham hoop-jumping exercise invented by bureaucrats. The older I get the more I lean towards the latter. Great scores and grades are less important than career planning, networking, and EQ.
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2025 08:04     Subject: PSAT
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Midwest apparently clueless mom here -- do kids study for the PSAT? My 10th grader didn't and I didn't really think this was a thing. Same as PP, 1330 and I feel like that is just fine.

People study if they really care about NMSF and they live in a state where the cut score is really high. If you live in a less competitive state or don’t care about NMSF there’s no reason to study. (And congratulations on making life choices that help you and your kid stay sane, I wish I’d done the same.)


Thank you for your reply, I just googled NMSF and see there is a whole world of competition for this out there I had no idea about! I recall being a NMS finalist back in the day but it seemed much simpler then! The guidance counselor just told me to write an essay and that was that, but I grew up in a less competitive state for sure. Good luck to all of you with your high achievers, it's impressive!
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2025 08:01     Subject: PSAT
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kid’s score went up 200+ points from 10th last year to 11th last month.


Did they practice or do any tutoring? Ds did well on the 10th grade test this year, but there was definitely room for improvement, especially in math. Just wondering how to approach it.


DP but does he know how to use desmos?


I don’t know. Probably not? He went in cold to it to get a baseline. He got 99th percentile on the verbal and 94th percentile on the math. I’ll sign him up for Kaplan or something like that to get practice. Sounds like learning how to use Desmos would be helpful.
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2025 08:00     Subject: PSAT
Anonymous wrote:Midwest apparently clueless mom here -- do kids study for the PSAT? My 10th grader didn't and I didn't really think this was a thing. Same as PP, 1330 and I feel like that is just fine.

People study if they really care about NMSF and they live in a state where the cut score is really high. If you live in a less competitive state or don’t care about NMSF there’s no reason to study. (And congratulations on making life choices that help you and your kid stay sane, I wish I’d done the same.)
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2025 07:57     Subject: PSAT
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Midwest apparently clueless mom here -- do kids study for the PSAT? My 10th grader didn't and I didn't really think this was a thing. Same as PP, 1330 and I feel like that is just fine.


It is fine.

Study? I don't know. Take a few practice tests, yeah a lot of kids do this. Particularly the ones who are within reach of National Merit (based on previous scores and SATs for Juniors).


Why would you take the PSAT if you've already taken the SATs?
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2025 07:54     Subject: PSAT
Anonymous wrote:Midwest apparently clueless mom here -- do kids study for the PSAT? My 10th grader didn't and I didn't really think this was a thing. Same as PP, 1330 and I feel like that is just fine.


It is fine.

Study? I don't know. Take a few practice tests, yeah a lot of kids do this. Particularly the ones who are within reach of National Merit (based on previous scores and SATs for Juniors).
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2025 07:51     Subject: PSAT
Midwest apparently clueless mom here -- do kids study for the PSAT? My 10th grader didn't and I didn't really think this was a thing. Same as PP, 1330 and I feel like that is just fine.
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2025 07:31     Subject: PSAT
Anonymous wrote:Thoughts on whether this year’s PSAT was harder than last year’s?

How do parents determine this?
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2025 07:20     Subject: PSAT
My kid's psat score dropped between 10th and 11th. She would have made the 224 cutoff based on the psat 10 with points to spare, but was below 224 based on 11th grade score. I don't know if this was just part of normal variation or if the test was actually harder.
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2025 06:25     Subject: PSAT
My kid's score on English section actually went down from last fall. Scored lower percentile overall (by a bit). Very unhappy kid. Didn't study for this one, will be doing test prep for spring SAT.

Having said that back in the day, I dropped 100 points between my first and second SAT from spring of junior year to fall of senior year.
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2025 06:23     Subject: PSAT
Sorry, 226, it's early.
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2025 06:22     Subject: PSAT
My kid felt like it was very difficult. They went up 10 pts from PSAT10 but got a lower comparative score than their SAT. 26 selection index though, so I think that's pretty good odds they'll get national merit for MD.
Anonymous
Post 11/07/2025 02:42     Subject: PSAT
My kid felt like it was harder. Feels motivated to be better prepared in the spring