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Should You Take the PSAT?
In a word—yes. Here are four reasons why you should take the PSAT.
1. You may have to. Most high schools require their students to take the PSAT in the fall of junior year (and many pick up the $16 cost), either for their own assessment or for a state requirement. Many schools additionally require the PSAT 8/9 and the PSAT 10. Check with your guidance counselor to see which ones you may need to take so you can prepare.
2. You can get a good sense of your future SAT score. The College Board purposefully gave these tests unique but equivalent scoring ranges, with the PSAT 8/9 going from 240–1440, the PSAT 10 and the PSAT/NMSQT going from 320–1520, and the SAT going from 400–1600. The College Board calls this a “common score scale” and claims that a 500 in Math (for instance) on any test would equate to a 500 in Math on any other test if the student took it on the same day. The common score scale can show your progress from test to test and enable you to compare score gains. The benefit of this common scale is that taking one or more of the PSAT suite of tests will give you an idea of what score you can expect to get on the SAT. It will also show you where your strengths and weaknesses lie.
3. You can target areas you need to practice for the SAT. Like the SAT, the PSAT tests break down your score into a variety of sub-scores, such as Words in Context, Command of Evidence, and Passport to Advanced Math. You can learn more about PSAT scoring here. Seeing how you rank in these different categories—during a low-stakes test—can show you where to focus your attention before the actual SAT rolls around. The College Board claims that just twenty hours of practice can raise your score an average of 115 points from the PSAT to the SAT.
4. Maximizing your PSAT score has benefits. As we mentioned above, the PSAT is also the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Its results are used to assign each student a Selection Index score. This is the result of taking the sum of the Math, Reading, and Writing and Language scores, then multiplying the result by two. Each section is scored from 8–38, so the doubled sum of the sections will range from 48–228.The PSAT is offered once a year. For WCSD students, it is free your sophomore year and $18 for your junior year.