Transcript Introduction to the PSAT

The Preliminary SAT (PSAT)
The National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT)
Ardrey Kell will administer the PSAT to all 10th and
11th grade students on Wednesday, October 15,
2014.
 A Practice PSAT will be administered to all 9th
grade students, and scores will be entered into
Triumph.
 October 15th is a PSAT National Testing Day for all
10th and 11th grade students.
 For AK, it will be a full instructional day,
with 3rd and 4th block following the
completion of the PSAT.


The PSAT/NMSQT helps students by:
 Measuring academic skills needed for college
 Identifying skills that need improvement
 Providing access to scholarships through the
National Merit Scholarship Corporation based
on PSAT scores
 Providing good practice for the SAT
 Predicting, based on scores, how well you will
succeed in an Advanced Placement (AP) class

PSAT/NMSQT scores are used as an initial screener for
students to be entered into the National Merit
Scholarship Program

Only Juniors who take the PSAT will be considered for
this program based upon their PSAT scores.

Out of 3.5 million students taking the PSAT, about 1.5
million high-scoring students will qualify for this program

Only 8,900 national finalists will be awarded
scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship
Program – It could be you!!

The PSAT/NMSQT tests the academic skill areas of:
 Critical reading
 Mathematics
 Writing skills.

The PSAT/NMSQT consists of five sections, and
will take approximately 3 hours to complete.


Has two 25-minute sections
48 Total Questions
 13 Sentence Completion Questions
 35 Questions Based on Reading Passages
Measures a student’s ability to:
 Analyze and evaluate the text
 Determine the meaning of words/vocabulary
skills
 Draw conclusions
 Use reasoning and inferences to understand
the text
 Identify the main idea and supporting details
 Understand literary elements and the
organization of a text


Has two 25-minute sections
38 Total Questions
 28 Multiple Choice Questions
 10 Student Response
Questions (Fill in the Grid)
Math concepts tested:
 Number and operations (20-25%)
 Algebra and functions (35-40%)
 Geometry and measurement (25-30%)
 Data analysis, statistics, & probability
(10-15%)



One 30-minute section
No essay
39 Total Questions
 14 Identifying Sentence Errors
 20 Improving Sentences
 5 Improving Paragraphs

Multiple Choice Questions:
 1 point for each correct answer
 Lose ¼ point for each incorrect answer

Student Response/Fill in the Grid
 1 point for each correct answer
 O points for each incorrect answer

Omitted Questions
 O points for questions not answered

Scale: 20-80 for each test section

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Students will receive their scores at school in
December
Students can receive access to online scores
and tools through My College QuickStartTM
and MyRoadTM.

Report to homeroom (same location as the
ACT last week)

Students need to bring:
 Two No. 2 pencils with erasers
 A calculator
 Novel

No cell phones or electronics allowed in the
testing room!!
Read the whole question and ALL of the answer
choices
 Answer all of the questions you know first
 Mark the questions you do not know, so you can
go back to them if you have time
 Use the test booklet for scratch work, and put
the work next to the question/problem
 Eliminate answer choices before choosing your
final answer
 Check to make sure the answer you are
marking on the answer sheet is the same
number you are working on in the test booklet


Review the Official Student
Guide to the PSAT/NMSQT
that you received last month

Visit the College Board website:
 www.collegeboard.org

Visit the National Merit
Scholarship Program website:
 www.nationalmerit.org