Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results

Transcription

1 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results The PSAT/NMSQT is cosponsored by the College Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

2 5 Major Parts of the Score Report 1. Your Scores 2. Review Your Answers 3. Improve Your Skills 4. National Merit Scholarship Programs Information 5. Your Educational Plans 2 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

3 3 Sections of the Test Critical Reading - Blue Mathematics - Orange Writing Skills - Green 3 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

4 Section 1: Your Scores Your Scores Ranges Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

5 Percentiles If you are a junior, your scores are compared to other juniors. If you are a sophomore, or younger, your scores are compared to sophomores. More info at 5 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

6 Percentiles higher than 54 juniors lower than 45 juniors 6 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

7 Section 2: Review Your Answers Question number Correct Answer Your Answer Level of Difficulty You will get your test book with your score report, so you can review the test questions. More info at 7 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

8 Review Your Answers: Math Also shows the math content area of each question: Alg = Algebra & Functions Data = Data Analysis, Statistics & Probability Geom = Geometry & Measurement Num = Number & Operations 8 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

9 Review Your Answers: Math Student- Produced Response Only answers gridded in the ovals are scored 9 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

10 Answer Summary & Scoring Correct answer = plus 1 point Omitted answers = no points Wrong answers to multiplechoice questions = minus ¼ point. (To discourage students from blind or random guessing.) Wrong answers to math questions (Student Produced Responses) = No points lost. 10 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

11 Section 3: Improve Your Skills The skills listed are based on your individual performance. Follow the suggestions noted in how to improve and work with your teachers. Review skills using questions listed 11 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

12 Section 4: National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) Programs Selection Index Percentile Entry Requirements 12 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

13 Section 5: Your Educational Plans Based on the college major you provided on the answer sheet, this section will give you: Description of what college students learn and do with that major. Associated skills Recommended high school courses More info at 13 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

14 After You Receive Your PSAT/NMSQT Score Report Review your answers by revisiting test questions with which you had difficulty. 14 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

15 After You Receive Your PSAT/NMSQT Score Report Create a free collegeboard.com account to access MyCollege QuickStart at Your Online Access Code 15 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

16 At Free, personalized resources: My SAT Study Plan My Online Score Report My College Matches My Major & Career Matches 16 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

17 At Review your online score report: Projected SAT scores: what your scores may be on the SAT State percentiles: how you did compared to other students in your state Sort questions by difficulty level and question type Sort Questions 17 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

18 At Free explanations for the answers to every test question, including why the correct answer is the best choice. 18 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

19 At Additional practice for the SAT: Practice SAT questions Practice SAT essay Student-written sample SAT essays Official SAT practice test 19 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

20 At A list of colleges in your state that offer the major you re interested in. 20 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

21 At View profiles of the major you chose as well as related majors and careers. Connect to MyRoad, an interactive college and career planning website. MyRoad comes complete with major and career profiles, an online magazine, selfdiscovery tools, a planning portfolio, and more. 21 Understanding PSAT/NMSQT Results, 9/06

22 Slide 1 Today you will learn how to read and use your PSAT/NMSQT Score Report to prepare for the SAT and for college. Slide 2 PSAT/NMSQT Score Report The sample Score Report on the screen is exactly like the one you will receive. Inside the report are five major parts: 1. Your Scores 2. Review Your Answers 3. Improve Your Skills 4. National Merit Scholarship Programs information 5. Your Educational Plans Slide 3 PSAT/NMSQT Score Report Notice that each section of the test Critical Reading, Math and Writing Skills is in its own color-coded column. Let s learn how the Score Report is organized by looking closely at the Critical Reading section. Slide 4 PSAT/NMSQT scores are reported in two-digit numbers: 20 (lowest) to 80 (highest). This shows a score of 50. Below, the score is represented as a range. Ranges are good way to think about scores. They show how much your scores would vary if you took the PSAT/NMSQT again, before gaining new knowledge or skills. Notice that, in this case, the Critical Reading score would be within 4 points above or below 50. So, a score of 48, for example, would be considered similar to a score of 50. Thus, the performance of students with scores between 46 and 54 would be very similar. Slide 5 Percentiles: How did I do compared to others nationwide? Percentiles help you compare your performance on the PSAT/NMSQT to the performance of all other juniors or sophomores who tested. For example, if you scored in the 55 th percentile, you scored higher than 55 percent of all the juniors who took the test. It also means that 45 percent of juniors had a score equal to or higher than yours. Note: State percentiles for sophomores/juniors are available online at Note: International students are compared to other non-u.s. students. Slide 6 Another way to understand percentiles is to visualize 100 students lined up from the lowest (or first) percentile at the end of the line to the highest (or 99 th ) percentile at the front of the line. If you are in the 55 th percentile, you would be the 55 th student in line, ahead of 54 students in the line and behind 45.

23 Slide 7 1. Review Your Answers Section: The middle section of the report is the Review Your Answers section. When you receive your Score Report, you will also get your test book, the one you used when you took the test. Be sure to ask for your test book if you don t have it. 2. Use your Test Book: Using your actual test book will help you make the most of the Review Your Answers section, since you ll be able to go back to questions you got wrong and, with the help of the explanations available on My College QuickStart ( figure out why. You can also look at the notes you made in your test book to see how you got to your answer. 3. Four Columns: The Critical Reading section contains Sentence Completions and Passage-Based Reading questions. Notice the first column displays the number of each question as it appeared in the test booklet. The second column displays the correct answer to each question. In the third column you will see the answers that you chose: a checkmark means CORRECT, O means OMITTED, and an alpha letter shows the incorrect answer you chose. In the fourth column of the Critical Reading section we see the letters E, M, or H, which identify the level of difficulty of each question. E means EASY questions, M means MEDIUM difficulty, and H means HARD (the most difficult questions on the test). Remember: this test is for high school juniors who are preparing for college, so it s possible that an E or easy question might seem difficult to younger students. Note: In-depth explanations for the answer to every test question are available at Slide 8 The Review Your Answers section contains the same information as in the Critical Reading section, but adds an additional column labeled Content. Though questions often reference more than one content area, here you will see the primary content area covered by the question: Algebra & Functions (Alg), Data Analysis, Statistics & Probability (Data), Geometry & Measurement (Geom), or Number & Operations (Num). Slide 9 Not all the math questions on the PSAT/NMSQT are multiple-choice. The Math section contains Multiple-Choice and Student Produced Response Questions, or grid-ins. Students solve problems and then record answers on a grid. Only answers gridded in the ovals are scored; you receive no credit for answers, even correct ones, written in boxes and not gridded or gridded incorrectly.

24 Slide 10 Just below the Review Your Answers table is a breakdown of your answers. In this example, the student answered 29 out of the 48 Critical Reading questions correctly and earned 29 points. This section also shows how many of the 29 correct answers were easy, medium, or hard, how many the student omitted 1 and finally, how many points were lost for incorrect answers. Remember that it is not good to guess on multiple choice questions if you don t have any idea what the answer might be. You get ¼ point deducted. Slide 11 One of the most valuable parts of the Score Report is the Improve Your Skills section, which offers personalized feedback on the academic skills identified on the PSAT/NMSQT as needing improvement and for which you have the best chance to improve with additional work. For each section of the test, Critical Reading, Math and Writing, the Score Report lists two or three skills that need some improvement, as identified by answers to questions on the PSAT/NMSQT. Under each skill that needs work are suggestions for how to improve that particular skill. You can also review questions that cover these skills. Follow the suggestions to improve in each area and work with your teachers for other ways to improve these skills. Slide 12 In this section we see information about eligibility for scholarships available through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Each student who takes the PSAT/NMSQT has a Selection Index. The Selection Index is the sum of the Critical Reading, Math, and Writing Skills scores (CR+M+W). To enter competition for Merit Scholarships, a student must: 1. be a full-time high school student; 2. graduate the following year and enroll in college full-time; 3. complete grades 9-12 in four years; and 4. be a U.S. citizen. If your Selection Index has an asterisk (*) next to it, this means you do not meet all the eligibility requirements for entrance into the competition. Typically, it is because you are not graduating next year. More than one million juniors enter this competition each year. About 55,000 qualify for recognition, and only about 9,000 of these receive an award. Be sure to look at your own Selection Index and eligibility when you receive your Score Report. It usually takes a percentile rank of 96 or higher to continue in the competition.

25 Slide 13 Read this part of the Score Report closely to see how well your future plans match your current interests, skills, and the courses you will be taking. Your Educational Plans contains a combination of information. On your answer sheet, you provided: grade average a college major of interest Based on the major you provided on their answer sheet, the Score Report gives a description of what college students learn and do with that major. The Score Report also states the associated skills related to that major, and the recommended high school courses you should take. Note: At students will find personalized lists of colleges, majors and careers. Slide 14 Take a look at the types of questions you missed and why. Did you miss easy questions? How did you do the difficult questions? Did you grid in your answers correctly? Did you take any notes in your test book that demonstrate your thinking? Slide 15 You will notice this computer icon throughout your score report. For the parts of the score report where you see this computer icon, you ll receive more information from online resources at My College QuickStart: Use your individual access code printed on your paper score report (on the lower right corner of your paper report and next to each computer icon). Slide 16 No Notes Slide 17 Go online for even more help: A complement to the paper score report, My College QuickStart features: Projected SAT scores: What your scores may be on the SAT State percentiles: How you did compared to other students in your state Sort Questions: Did you know that you can sort questions by difficulty level and question type online at This will make it easier for you to review questions you answered incorrectly or omitted. You can also sort questions by level of difficulty so you can see how you did for each level. Note: International students will be compared to other non-u.s. students.

26 Slide 18 No Notes Slide 19 You can prepare for the SAT and get personalized feedback based on your PSAT performance by going online Familiarize yourself with the SAT: There is an introduction to the SAT online Review and practice with real practice SAT questions Get test taking advice Review Math concepts You can even sign up for the SAT quickly with pre-filled personal information Slide 20 No Notes Slide 21 You have access to MyRoad until you graduate from high school. Note: You might want to follow up this presentation with the presentation on that shows detail about MyRoad, to help students get the full benefits of this online career, major, and college planning tool.