Road to College - GOT YOUR PSAT SCORES? Now What?

PSAT scores will begin to be available within the next couple of weeks. With its arrival there usually is a feeling of "What does it mean?" and "What do we do next?"

Whether taken in one’s sophomore or junior year, PSAT’s provide valuable insight into a student’s strengths and weaknesses in core topic areas, which in turn forms the basis for future test preparation.

What does the score report contain?

Look at PSAT as a sub-test of SAT. Even though it is a shorter test with fewer question categories and sections, PSAT scores have a strong correlation with SAT scores. PSAT has three sections—Critical Reading, Math and Writing on which you are graded on. Here is what you will find on the report:

• Score range of 20–80 points for each section with a total possible score of 240 on the test. Add ‘0’ to each section score and viola, you get a corresponding SAT equivalent score.
• Under each section you will see percentile information, which will tell you how you scored relative to other test takers for your grade.
• The best part about the score report is that you see performance in different section broken down by question category. You also get the details on the questions that were right, wrong or missed.

What should your next steps be?

PSAT scores provide a real insight into how you need to approach your standardized test preparation but before you sign up for the next test or preparation program, it makes sense to consider the following:

• Most students today will take SAT and ACT test. Since all colleges accept scores from both the test with equal consideration with some colleges even super scoring across the two tests, the question really becomes which test you should focus on and prepare for, since there are real differences between the two tests and very often students show better performance in one test over the other. Chyten has designed a unique test ‘ACT Vs SAT Comparison Test’ to help answer which test is better-suited for your child. 
• Understand what kind of colleges/programs you are interested in so that you can come up with some goals. The ONLY reason you will take SAT or ACT is to get into college, so without having better perspective on your college ambitions, preparing for SAT/ACT is like shooting in the dark.
• If you have lower PSAT scores, don’t beat yourself up. You may want to consider your preparation alternatives and look at ACT, which is a very different test.