High schoolers who took the precursor to the SAT in October began receiving their scores this month.
But some test-takers of the recently redesigned Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, sponsored by the College Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, met their results with confusion.
Tom Woodford, college counselor for Hilliard City Schools in Ohio, says many students and parents in his district had trouble accessing PSAT scores on the College Board website — frustrating for families.
But once students were able to log into their College Board accounts, they were able to view their PSAT scores and other resources, he says.
There’s feedback on what students’ strengths and weaknesses are in terms of reading, writing and math, for instance, he says. Families can use this information to guide their students’ test prep with a professional, or on their own.
“They can actually click on any question that they got wrong and actually see that question and also get a tutorial on that skill that’s being questioned there, which I think is a huge asset for all of the students,” he says. “Because it should be about the learning, it shouldn’t be about taking a test.”
Woodford says that what he loves about the PSAT is that it’s not just a one-day test, but an ongoing resource for students.
[Learn more about why PSAT scores matter.]
But parents should know the scale used to score the PSAT has changed dramatically this year, says Katie Cladis, academics program manager for Kaplan Test Prep. The highest score a student could get on the exam went from 240 to 1520, she says, so there’s not a good way to compare old and new PSAT scores.
PSAT results show students what they would’ve scored on the SAT if they had taken the SAT the same day, she says. And while the highest score for the new SAT is 1600, 80 points higher than the new PSAT, families should know this is because there are certain upper-level question types on the SAT that aren’t on the PSAT, she says.
Woodford says the PSAT gives students feedback and tells them how they scored compared with other students who took the PSAT this fall. He’s told his students to not get too caught up in the percentage score since each university they apply to next fall will have their own average profile for students.
Another change families should be aware of is the scale used to determine which students qualify for the National Merit Scholarship competition has changed, says Lisa Marker-Robbins, founder and president of Learning Enrichment & Assistance Program, LLC, which offers families services to aid in the college-going process.
So students can’t yet compare their performance to previous winners of the competition, since there’s no data yet to compare, she says.
Woodford wants to remind parents to stay involved, informed and supportive through the college process, but to not overstep their role.
[Get 3 tips for parents to help their kids with SATs.]
“Their experience, when they went to college, is very different than the process is now,” he says. “So any time they can be informed of how different the process is now, I think that’s very important and will be helpful for the children in the long run.”
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How Parents, Teens Can Make Use of New PSAT Scores originally appeared on usnews.com
