How can you use your 10th or 11th grade student’s PSAT score to make a test prep plan? Read this post to find out! 

Scores from the PSAT have begun to be released! Score release timing is based on the date that a school offered the PSAT: 

We know that this post contains a whole lot of information. If you would like to set up a planning call for your student in particular, you can book 15 minutes with our Director, Jim Wismer, at this link.

Baseline SAT score

The first and most significant purpose of the PSAT is to provide a benchmark for roughly how a student would perform on the SAT today. 

The PSAT is roughly accurate, but not perfectly precise, as an SAT predictor. PSAT scores are inflated because the PSAT’s questions are slightly easier, since it is a test designed for juniors early in the school year, whereas the SAT is designed for a combined population of juniors and early seniors. Yet the scores are also deflated because the PSAT is only scored out of 1520 instead of 1600. 

For most students in most cases, this evens out. The main exception is students at the very top end of the scoring scale. Because the PSAT does not contain questions at the top of the SAT’s difficulty level, it cannot tell a student where between 1520 and 1600 they might land. For everyone else, the PSAT gives students an accurate idea of their SAT performance. This allows a student to determine how much work they have ahead to raise their SAT score to the level they want. 

Compare an ACT

Students have the option to take either the SAT or ACT for college admissions. Colleges have no preference between the two tests, which means that students should target the test most likely to give them the highest score.

The simplest way to determine which test will work for a student is to try both and compare the scores. For some students, the scores themselves tell the story–they show a significant head start on one test or the other. College Board and ACT have published data showing how scores on one test translate to the other. We use this data to recommend which test will tend to give students stronger results.

We offer free diagnostic testing that any student can take from home. We return the results of the test, provide our recommendation for SAT/ACT, and offer a call to discuss a test prep plan. Contact us for more information. 

The Digital ACT

To make an informed decision between the SAT and ACT, it is also important to understand some upcoming changes to the ACT. 

The ACT has plans to start offering a digital test. The first digital ACT tests will be offered in April 2025, though the digital version will not be widely available to students. The test format is changing for good in September of 2025, though the new version of the test will also be offered in a paper format, unlike the SAT. 

ACT will also be making the Science section of the test-optional, though we strongly recommend students continue to take it since no college has yet said that it is optional for them.

Juniors making their plans now should be focused on the current version of the ACT, which will be the dominant format through July 2025.

Students in sophomore year and younger should take a diagnostic test in the new format of the ACT once one becomes available. We will be keeping families informed and will send one out to all of the 

When to Test

Most juniors who are thinking about their test prep plans for the first time when PSAT scores come back should be targeting the March SAT or February ACT. These test dates are before the end-of-junior-year crunch time but still offer plenty of time to prepare. 

For sophomores, we recommend testing in the first half of junior year if they will have completed Algebra 2 and Geometry (or the equivalent Integrated Math course) by the end of 10th grade. If they will be taking Algebra 2, Geometry, or equivalent during junior year, they should wait for the second half of the year for their first official test. Those courses represent the last of the math that a student must already know to do well on the exams. 

Of course, a testing plan is best formed with the specifics of your student’s life and schedule in mind. Contact us for a free planning call to talk through test dates and prep logistics based on your student’s commitments.

National Merit

The PSAT is used to determine what students qualify as National Merit Semifinalists. Students who score in roughly the top 1% of their state’s testers qualify. They are informed in the fall of senior year and invited to apply for the National Merit Scholarship. 

The exact score students need to qualify for National Merit varies state by state and year by year. The calculation of the score double-weights the verbal portion of the test. Contact us with your student’s score, and we can give you an idea of how they would have fared based on the last few years of data. 

Follow this link to learn more about the steps to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship.

What If I Didn’t Take the PSAT?

Students can take a practice SAT independently to get the same information that a PSAT score would provide. Contact us for instructions on how to do so. 

Wait–Isn’t Every School Test-Optional Now?

The majority of colleges are now test-optional, but their degree of test optionality differs. We have also seen several schools begin to reinstate outright testing requirements. The simple fact is that students will still have the strongest application possible if it includes a test score that the college in question considers strong. 

Watch our webinar on test-optional admissions to learn more about these policies and what they mean for students. 

Learn More

We will be offering our webinar on Using PSAT Scores to Plan for a Spring SAT/ACT twice, on October 24th and November 14th. 

Follow this link to register for the webinar on your preferred date and see our remaining fall webinar calendar.