The table below shows the Selection Index score you’ll need to qualify for National Merit in every US state. Interestingly, this trend shifts the lower you go in scores. The Selection Index is the sum of your three PSAT section test scores multiplied by 2. The PSAT is actually meant to provide you and your teachers with more information about your knowledge and, by doing so, provide direction for your future education. Your PSAT section test scores are the ones that use a scale of 8-38. Whether you qualify as a Commended Student, a Semifinalist, a Finalist, or a full-fledged National Merit Scholar, it’s definitely worth noting this achievement on your college applications. Speaking of National Merit, the score used for this competition isn’t actually your total score but your Selection Index, which, as mentioned briefly above, is the sum of your Math and EBRW test scores multiplied by 2. You can use your PSAT score as a baseline score to get a sense of where you’re currently scoring on the SAT and to figure out which skills you might need to work on in the meantime so you'll wind up hitting your SAT goal score. The different ranges between the PSAT and SAT scores … The PSAT is also excellent practice for the SAT and can help you stand out to colleges. You can also check out this sample PSAT score report provided by the College Board. Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com, allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. For example, a student with a percentile of 63 has earned a score better than 63 percent of that year’s test takers. It’s possible that the score cutoffs for 2020 will change slightly, but for now you can use this data to get a sense of what to aim for. The College Board also includes this on your report if you’re eligible. Only juniors who take the PSAT are eligible for National Merit Scholarships. If you’re getting ready to take the PSAT and want to qualify for National Merit, it’s best to aim for a Selection Index score about 2 to 5 points higher than your state’s predicted cutoff score. The Selection Index is unique to the PSAT and not part of the SAT as the other scores are. Taking the PSAT gives you a chance to qualify for several scholarship programs, most notably the National Merit Scholarship Program. Just to be on the safe side, you will want to aim a little higher than this—let’s say 222. The Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score and the Math score on the SAT range from 200-800. ACT® is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc. PSAT/NMSQT® is a registered trademark of the College Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation which were not involved in the production of, and do not endorse, this product. Your PSAT 8/9 score, which can range from 240 to 1440, is the total of your Math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores. In addition to your overall scores, you will receive subscores that provide a deeper analysis of your PSAT performance. As the table indicates, you'd need a near-perfect or perfect Math score to get in the 99th percentile, whereas you’d only need 730+ to get in the same percentile on EBRW. PSAT/NMSQT scores range from 320 to 1520 and are on the same score scale as the SAT. hbspt.cta.load(360031, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05', {}); Have any questions about this article or other topics? You just need to take the Selection Index score cutoff for your state, divide it by 2, and then divide again by 3. The Selection Index score is calculated by doubling the sum of your Reading, Writing and Language, and Math Test scores. The Selection Index has a range of 48-228. Here's how you’d calculate your Selection Index. More than 10,000 of these students share more than $47 million in National Merit Scholarship money. [ RELATED: How to Become a National Merit Scholarship Finalist ]. Math is the more competitive section, as it requires you to get a higher score in order to get into those ultra-high percentiles. On the PSAT this would be … Your overall PSAT score will range from 320 to 1520 and is calculated by adding your two area scores together. ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score, How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League, Is the ACT easier than the SAT? As a result, the ranges for these scores will vary depending on the section. Latest News Two International students of Parul … You can view the full list of current PSAT percentiles here to see where you rank. This puts you squarely in the 50th percentile. Who Sees Your Scores. You can then use your PSAT results to help you create an SAT study plan. You'll get one point for each question you answer correctly in a section. Find out who receives your PSAT 8/9 scores—and who doesn’t. SAT® is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination BoardTM. Also, you might have noticed that the PSAT scores you need to reach certain percentiles on the two sections differ slightly. Finally, scoring well on the PSAT can inform how you prep for the SAT. To learn more about signing up for the upcoming PSAT, check out our complete guide to PSAT registration. The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points, How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer, Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests. The most important to you are the scaled total score, scaled section score, and selection index, and we'll discuss them more in the next section. The top 50,000 scorers on the PSAT are recognized by the National Merit Program and sent letters of commendation. The highest/ perfect PSAT score is a total of 1520 composite score. PSAT scores between 1070 and 1200 are competitive scores that will put you in the top 25% of all test takers. As a reminder, the PSAT score range is 320-1520 overall and 160-760 for Math and EBRW. Score Structure. This is a good chance for extra practice, and to see how you might expect to perform when it counts Junior year. Each subscore uses a scale of 1-15. Getting ready to take the PSAT? Student Score Reports What Your Scores Mean. As an example, say you got a 35 on Math, a 36 on Reading, and a 37 on Writing. For the 2020 PSAT, you'll take the test in October and get your scores back mid-December. PSAT scores between 1210 and 1520 are excellent scores that will put you in the top 10% of all test takers. It's equal to the sum of all three section test scores (not scaled scores!) Each state will then determine their own Selection Index score cutoff for eligibility; this cutoff varies slightly every year. 2017 PSAT Scores for 10th Graders The percentile for the PSAT user is the score where you land in comparison to others who took the test. Our first step, then, is to divide 222 by 2: To get our target test scores for the Math, Reading, and Writing sections, we'll just need to divide this number by 3: This means that your target scores for Math, Reading, and Writing would be 37 for each section. This depends on the state you live in. The scores for each section range from 120 to 760, adding up to a maximum score … Regardless of the exact cutoff for your state, all of the students who qualify earn high scores—less than the top 1% of high school students advance to become Semifinalists. National Merit is extremely competitive and only top scorers across the country get named Commended Scholars and Semifinalists. Get the latest articles and test prep tips! As you can see, you’ll need to score at least 1010 overall to get what would generally be considered a good PSAT score for 2020. Before we look at these cutoff scores, let’s quickly review how to find your Selection Index. (Just to be clear, a 99th percentile score does not necessarily mean you got a perfect PSAT score of 1520⁠—though it can.). Learn what a benchmark is, what percentiles can tell you, and more. Each state has a preset number of Semifinalists, and once scores come in for students that determines the cutoff score for that year in that state. The Reading and Writing Sections are combined into one section score, and the Math section now includes a portion in which usage of calculators is prohibited. Students receive a scaled score ranging from 160 to 760 for each of the sections, with 160 being the lowest … Scores in percentiles higher than this, such as the 80th or 90th percentile, are even better, while scores in percentiles lower than this can be considered below average. Because the PSAT 10, PSAT/NMSQT, and SAT share a common scale, the highest score you can get on the PSAT 10 is 1520 compared to 1600 for the SAT. 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