Using Your PSAT/NMSQT Scores to Increase College Readiness
Get to Know the The PSAT/NMSQT is highly relevant to your future PSAT/NMSQT success because it focuses on the skills and knowledge at the heart of your education. It measures: What you learn in high school What you need to succeed in college The PSAT/NMSQT measures reading, writing and language, and math skills developed over many years. The PSAT/NMSQT does not ask for facts from literature, history, or science because it measures your reasoning and critical thinking skills. It has no penalty for guessing or answering incorrectly. Test length: 2 hours, 45 minutes. 2
What Are the Benefits of Taking the PSAT/NMSQT? Prepare for the SAT Get free, personalized Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy Start getting ready for college with college and career planning tools See which AP courses for which you might be ready Get admission and financial aid information from colleges 3
Sophomores: October 2017 will be the FINAL time you can take the PSAT. Why take it again? Eligibility for the National Merit Scholarship Program (Grade 11 only)
How do PSAT scores compare to SAT? SAT 400-1600 Composite 200-800 Evidence-based Reading & Writing 200-800 Math PSAT 10/11 320-1520 Composite 160-760 PSAT 10/11 Evidence-based Reading & Writing 160-760 PSAT 10/11 Math
Scores Across the SAT Suite of Assessments The redesigned SAT is the anchor of a vertically aligned SAT Suite of Assessments. Section Score Ranges 6 2015 The College Board.
What s the difference between the PSAT and the SAT? PSAT is shorter (139 questions vs. 154 questions) PSAT doesn t include an essay. PSAT is given every October at every high school during the school day. SAT is offered 7 times/year on Saturdays. Universities only use SAT/ACT scores when considering you for admission. They do not see, nor use, your PSAT score when making admissions decisions. 7 2015 The College Board.
How Do I Access My PSAT/NMSQT Scores and Reports? 1. Review your online reports. 2. Review your paper score report. 8
How Do I Access My Online PSAT/NMSQT Scores and Reports? Log in to an existing College Board account or create a new one at studentscores.collegeboard.org. 9
How Do I Access My Online PSAT/NMSQT Scores and Reports? (cont.) 1. Log in to your account. 2. Select PSAT/NMSQT Scores. *OR* 3. Use Missing Scores to locate scores. *Use Access Code from paper Score Report 10
What Can I Learn from My Answers? See the actual questions, answer choices, and the answer selected. Look at the online score report and consider the following: Identify the questions answered incorrectly. Find the correct answer and read the answer explanation. Explain why the error was made. Ask questions about answer explanations that are not clear. 11
What Can I Learn from My Answers? (cont.) Check the level of difficulty of each question and the related subscores and cross-test scores. Look at the types of questions answered incorrectly and skipped and consider the following: Identify the level of difficulty. How many questions did I miss at each level? Was I more likely to skip questions associated with any subscore or crosstest score? What inferences can I make about areas for improvement based on the types of questions I missed and skipped? 12
What Is My AP Potential? AP Potential uses scores from the PSAT/NMSQT to provide predictions for 21 AP Exams. College Board research shows that students who score a 3 or higher on an AP Exam typically experience greater academic success in college and are more likely to earn a college degree on time than non- AP students. 13
Understanding My Paper Score Report
What Are My Scores? Scores for the assessments in the SAT Suite are vertically equated.
What Are My Scores? (cont.) Test scores, crosstest scores, and subscores give students insightful information about their strengths and areas for improvement. 16
What Are My Score Percentiles? Percentiles and benchmarks are provided for 10th and 11th grades on the PSAT/NMSQT. 17
What Are My Score Ranges? PSAT/NMSQT scores should be interpreted as ranges rather than singular points. 18
What Is the National Merit Scholarship Program? Academic Competition for recognition and scholarships Of 1.5 million juniors who took the PSAT, only 50,000 will qualify for recognition. Selection index: double the sum of the Reading, Writing and Language, and Math Test scores. Maximum = 228. CA: students would need around 221 to qualify for National Merit 19
What Are My Areas of Strength? What Skills Do I Need to Build? Your Scores: Next Steps Left Side: Your Strengths Right Side: Skills You Need to Build 20
Key/Legend Bottom right of page 4 On the PSAT and SAT, students should have NO Omitted and NO Unscorable!!! Wooden pencil only, no mechanical. Bubble an answer to every question, even math grid-ins 21
What Are My Next Steps? Continue to take challenging courses in high school Link scores with Khan Academy Set up a practice plan and stick to it Register for the SAT Utilize other resources to research and prepare for college
Official SAT Practice with Khan Academy It s FREE! Go to satpractice.org and create a free account. Get personalized recommendations. Link your Khan Academy account to your College Board account to import past SAT Suite results, or take diagnostic quizzes to get personalized recommendations. Create a study plan. Select a test date and set up a practice schedule.
How Can I Practice with Khan Academy? Watch a video introducing Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy Thousands of practice questions and videos covering every SAT concept Six official, full-length SAT practice tests with more to come Personalized recommendations based on each student s strengths and weaknesses Tailored practice schedule mapping out each students path to test day SAT tips and strategies, sharing information about each part of the test 24
What Steps Will I Follow to Link My College Board Account to Khan Academy? Step 1: Log in or create a Khan Academy account. Step 2: When prompted, agree to link your Khan Academy and College Board accounts. You will then be directed to collegeboard.org. Step 3: Sign in or create a College Board account. Step 4: When prompted, hit Send to authorize the account linking. Step 5: Start practicing on Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy! 25
How Can I Link My College Board and Khan Academy Accounts? After successfully logging in to your College Board account, you will be asked to authorize the account linking. After clicking Send, you will be redirected to SAT Practice on the Khan Academy site. You can remove the link at any time by clicking on Revoke, which is found in your College Board account settings. 26
How Do I Register for the SAT? Popular Tools SAT Registration sat.org/register 27
What Additional Resources Will Help Me Prepare for My Future? BigFuture College Action Plan College Search Scholarships Financial Aid Roadmap to Careers Student Search Service 28
BigFuture Search Colleges, Scholarships, and Careers Search for colleges. Watch videos from real students. Hear from education professionals. Learn about different colleges. Get help paying for college. Build a personalized plan for getting into college. 29
Road Map to Careers Roadtrip Nation and College Board are partnering to help students connect with careers. Choose your core interests. Watch videos of leaders who share your interests. Learn about majors and careers that align to your interests. See examples of leaders who followed a similar path. 30
Student Search Service Connects students with information about educational and financial aid opportunities. Participation is voluntarily. If you agreed to participate during the October 2016 PSAT, you might be receiving information from colleges. Connect with more than 1,200 colleges, universities, scholarship programs, and educational organizations. If you didn t do so already, sign up for SSS when you take the October 2017 PSAT: 1. Choose to participate in Student Search Service when registering for a College Board test (fill in the circle on the answer sheet). 2. Provide information about yourself on your answer sheet. 3. Participating organizations can then search for groups of students who may be a good fit. 4. FYI: The College Board never shares information on disabilities, parental education, self-reported parental income, Social Security numbers, phone numbers, or actual test scores through Student Search Service. 31
When Should I Take the SAT? Most students take the SAT in the spring of their junior year. Many students choose to take the SAT more than one time. Recommended Timeline: Take the PSAT in October 2017 Take the SAT in March 2018 Want to re-test? Six more chances in 2018: May, June, August, October, November, December. 32
Things to consider when registering for SAT:
Should I take the optional Essay? Required by all UCs. NOT required by CSUs. Better to have it just in case. Check with your colleges of interest to see whether they require the essay. 34
Will I need to take any SAT Subject Tests? Check with your colleges of interest Required, recommended or considered in addition to the SAT/ACT by some of the more competitive universities Think of it as a one-hour, mini-ap Test. Each subject : 200-800 point scale CSUs (such as SDSU) do not require Subject Tests, nor do they consider them for admissions decisions. Offered on all the same dates as SAT, except March You can NOT take the SAT on the same day you take SAT Subject Tests Subject Tests are one hour each and you can take up to three on one date.
There is no pass/fail on the PSAT or SAT. So what is an average score? SAT: 800 points per section possible. 550 points per section average. PSAT: 760 points per section possible. 495 points per section was the average.
Suggested Goal Score for UCs University Goal ACT Score (1-36) Goal SAT Score (400-1600) UCB (University of California, Berkeley) 32 1330-1540 UCD (University of California, Davis) 29 1160-1430 UCI (University of California, Irvine) 28 1130-1390 UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) 32 1280-1520 UCM (University of California, Merced) 24 1000-1210 UCR (University of California, Riverside) 26 1110-1330 UCSD (University of California, San Diego) 31 1270-1490 UCSB (University of California, Santa Barbara) 30 1210-1440 UCSC (University of California, Santa Cruz) 28 1150-1390
Goal Scores (25 th -75 th percentile) University Average ACT (1-36) Average SAT (400-1600) UCSD (University of California, San Diego) 30 1270-1490 SDSU (San Diego State University) 25 1090-1300 USD (University of San Diego) 28 1180-1390 University of Arizona 26 1040-1290 Oregon State University 24 1060-1290 University of Florida 27 1250-1430 Harvard University 33 1480-1600 Morehouse/Spelman Colleges 22 970-1190 UNLV (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) 21 950-1170 USC (University of Southern California) 30 1370-1530 UCLA-University of California, Los Angeles 31 1280-1520 University of Washington 28 1190-1440
Should I take the SAT? Or the ACT? Almost ALL colleges/universities will accept a score from EITHER test If you take both and score higher on one than the other, colleges will accept the HIGHER score You can take either test more than once; colleges will usually accept the highest score 39
What are the main differences between SAT and ACT? SAT Has only two passages based on science as part of the Reading section. Has a 50-minute essay where you must read a text and analyze how the author furthers his/her argument. Two math sections; one allows a calculator, one does not. More time per math question, but more complex questions. Has both multiple-choice and grid-ins. Four answer choices on math. ACT Has an entire Science section (40 questions) with its own 1-36 Science score. Has a 40-minute persuasive essay where students read three perspectives on a contemporary issue and give their own perspective. One math section that allows calculator the entire time. All multiple-choice. Less time per question, but more straightforward questions. Five answer choices on math. 40
Top SAT Tips 1. BUILD YOUR MENTAL STAMINA (4+ HOURS) 2. READ CONSTANTLY (BEFORE THE TEST.) 3. UNDERLINE WHAT EVERY QUESTION IS ASKING. 4. ANSWER IN YOUR PREFERRED ORDER. 5. BEFORE TIME IS CALLED, BUBBLE AN ANSWER TO EVERY QUESTION, EVEN IF GUESSING, EVEN THE MATH GRID-INS. 6. TAKE THE ESSAY. BETTER TO HAVE IT AND NOT NEED IT.
PSAT/SAT Preparation Create a Khan Academy account and practice regularly online. Check with Pt. Loma High counselors for opportunities here at Pt. Loma High School
For Sophomores and Juniors (Class of 2018 and 2019) Free Summer Preparation Course PSAT Scholars: PSAT/SAT Prep Every Saturday July 8-August 12, 8:30am-12:30pm MUST attend all six Saturdays SAT Prep only (no tutoring, meals or field trips) Required application; due April 21
For Sophomores and Freshmen (Class of 2019 and 2020) Free Summer SAT Preparation Academy SWAG: Students With Academic Goals: June 15-30 Every weekday June 15-30, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM Bayview Baptist Church, 92114. You must provide your own transportation Includes daily SAT prep, daily lunch, daily tutoring, team building Field trips to three college campuses Required application and pre-test; required daily attendance Applications are due April 7 Targeted to students currently in Grades 9 and 10, rising in to Grades 10 and 11 over the summer.
Karla Whitaker Cal-SOAP kkwhitaker@ucsd.edu ww.sandiegocalsoap.com