Prepare for the PSAT/NMSQT ® : A Step to the Future

1. Prepare for the PSAT/NMSQT®: A Step to the Future

2. Why take the PSAT… Each year, more than 3.5 million high school juniors, sophomores, and younger students take the PSAT/NMSQT to: • Prepare for the SAT • Enter competitions for scholarships (for more information, go to Scholarship and Recognition Programs) • Receive information from colleges: (for more information, go to Student Search Service®) • Begin college and career planning • Help assess academic skills necessary for college-level work On average, students who take the PSAT, score 136 points higher on the SAT than those who do not.

3. Now is the time In 2012, 55% of PSAT/NMSQT test-takers were sophomores or younger students. Younger test-takers have more time to develop the skills that they need to improve to succeed in high school and college. Students who take the test as sophomores need to take it again as juniors to qualify for National Merit scholarship programs.

4. About the PSAT Testing time • The PSAT/NMSQT is 2 hours and 10 minutes long, plus approximately 45-50 minutes of administrative duties. Assessing skills The PSAT/NMSQT measures: • Reading, math reasoning, and writing skills that are important for successful academic performance in college • Critical thinking—the ability to reason with facts and concepts, rather than the ability to recall and recite them

5. Content Two 25-minute critical reading sections contain a total of 48 questions: • 13 sentence completions • 35 passage-based reading questions Two 25-minute mathematics sections contain a total of 38 questions: • 28 multiple choice • 10 student-produced responses, or grid-ins One 30-minute writing skills section contains 39 questions: • 20 improving sentences • 14 identifying sentence errors • 5 improving paragraphs

6. How is the PSAT/NMSQT Scored? • Multiple-choice questions: • 1 point for each correct • ¼ point deducted for each incorrect • Math grid-ins: • 1 point for each correct • 0 points for each incorrect • 0 points for omitted questions

7. How is the PSAT/NMSQT Scored? • Scale: • 20-80 for each test section • Averages: • 11th Graders: 47-50 • 10th Graders: 43-46 • Younger Students: 38-42

8. About Guessing • Educated guessing means guessing an answer whenever one or more of the choices can be eliminated as definitely wrong. Encourage students to use educated guessing. • Because ¼ of a point is deducted for a wrong answer to multiple-choice questions, random guessing is not recommended. Advise students to leave that question blank and move on to the next one. • Students can earn an above-average score by getting only half the questions right and omitting answers for the rest of the questions.

9. Strategies • Take the practice test in The Official Student Guide to the PSAT/NMSQT. • Learn the directions for each type of math and critical reading question. • Earn as many points as they can on easy questions. • Read all the answer choices before marking their answer sheets. • Do their scratchwork in the test book. • Skip test questions—they don't have to answer every question to do well. • Work steadily without wasting time on hard questions—they can always go back to them later. • Check their answer sheets regularly to make sure they're in the right place. • Write answers to grid-ins in the boxes above the ovals. • Try educated guessing when they can eliminate at least one answer to a multiple-choice question. • Take a calculator on test day.

10. Calculators are Encouraged Although no question requires calculator use, students are encouraged to bring their own. (Cell phones/electronic devices can NOT be used as a calculator)

11. Check it out! Get familiar with the college board website: www.collegeboard.org

12. Do Your Very Best!