Berkeley Parents Network: Advice about taking the PSAT

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Advice about taking the PSAT

Berkeley Parents Network > Advice > School & Preschool > Advice about taking the PSAT

PSAT for Sophomores?
PSAT Scores compared to grades
When should review courses for PSAT be taken, optimally?
Related page: SAT & PSAT Preparation classes & tutors
See also: Advice about taking the SAT

PSAT for Sophomores?

Sept 2004

I hear various recommendations for when to take the PSAT. I guess most kids take it as Juniors the first semester but some kids take it as sophomores. Can you take it twice? Any harm to taking it as a Sophomore? Any advantages? Thanks
Interested Parent

Sophomores can take the PSAT for practice, but in order for it to count for National Merit Scholarship, students have to be juniors. Jamie

It's really, really nice for college-bound kids to have a chance to ''practice'' taking the PSAT. You can take it multiple times, and when you take it during the fall of your 11th grade year, it's pretty high-stakes, as it's the qualifying exam to be in the running to be a National Merit Scholar. At my kids' school (Skyline in Oakland) they're encouraged to take it even as 9th graders. Having some practice can really cut down on the anxiety later on, and also give you a sense of whether a prep course is a good idea. Kathy

PSAT Scores compared to grades

My daughter recently took the PSAT as a sophomore and I was surprised at how low her scores were considering she is a straight A student at Berkeley High. Does anyone have experience with how these scores relate to SAT performance? She tends to have a more difficult time with standardized tests in general and I am wondering what assistance we could provide to help her develop better test-taking skills. I would appreciate recommendations to programs or individuals who address this area, especially someone who could determine the problem she is having.

I don't think there is a very linear relationship between grades and the PSAT scores. My son is a a sophomore also and he got a 99th percentile in Math on the test and was receiving a "B" in Honors Algebra. He does take tests well, however, and I believe that has more to do with the PSAT success. I think it was wise of your daughter to take the test in her sophomore year to give her the time to practice up for the PSAT and SAT in advance of the required year. She probably just needs more familiarity with the testing to reduce her stress level. Regarding preparing to improve testing scores, I read a review on the various SAT prep courses and the Princeton seemed to be the most effective. Hope this helps. Gary

When should review courses for PSAT be taken, optimally?

Thanks for the discussion concerning PSAT testing. My daughter is bright and tests very badly. She's in 9th grade. When should review courses for PSAT be taken, optimally?

As those knowledgeable about these kinds of standardized tests will tell you, the SAT and the PSAT really only measure one kind of intelligence: How good somebody is at taking these standardized tests. They aren't accurately indicative of performance in college. They don't measure the most important ingredients for success, e.g. motivation, creativity, social skills, emotional intelligence, etc. All that said, though, sadly in this culture you must perform well on these tests if you want to get into competitive colleges/universities.

There are various things you can do if you want to boost your scores. First of all, if you have the money, taking the (extremely expensive) Princeton Review or the (slightly less-expensive) Kaplan test preparation courses promises a hike in your numbers (literally: the Princeton Review guarantees a substantial raise in scores). These programs develop curriculum by intensively studying the PSAT/SAT and figuring out lots of little tricks to "beat the test". And the tricks work. The Princeton course also includes tips on stuff like how to overcome test anxiety, what to eat before the test, etc. If your child is very self-motivated, he/she can also pick up a copy of various SAT prep. books from a book store, such as the Princeton Review or Kaplan series. (These aren't as good as taking the course, but then again, $10 is very different from $1,000.)

Lots of kids don't perform well on these kinds of tests because of acute anxiety--and of course they're anxious, quite a bit of their future is resting in their number 2 pencil on an early Saturday morning. As parents, make it clear to them that these tests measure nothing important, and never shame your kids of they don't perform well. Tell them that these tests aren't indicative of success in life. Make sure that they prepare, but don't get all stressed out, that only makes it more difficult.

Colleges are paying attention to SAT's less and less--hands down, the most important thing in terms of getting into prestige colleges/universities is demonstrating some kind of passion that sets you apart from the crowd. Just ask an admissions officer if you don't believe me, they'll tell you the same thing. There are tons of people with good SAT's--but not many great writers, or mathematicians, or scientists, or singers/songwriters, or actors, or musicians, or butterfly collectors, or kind people who go way out of their own way to help others...these are the kinds of things that colleges really look for. (Of course, you have to try to get decent grades, and do your best on the SAT's, but these aren't the most important.) So do your best on the SAT, take the courses if you can afford it or work through the books if you can't. Having been through it myself, and also on the sideline with many others, I know it's stressful in the moment, but if you do these, it'll all work out in the end.

Steven

I don't know how your daughter learns, but if she is fairly independent and can learn by reading, I would strongly recommend having her look at one of the test prep books. The ones I've used are from the Princeton Review, but there are tons of them out there to choose from. I don't think there are any for the PSAT, but then she shouldn't need to take that again. The books are usually around $30, I think, and I used them when I was in high school to prepare for the SATs and again in college for the GREs. What I really needed was assistance in math, and my scores improved by a couple hundred points from using the books. In high school I actually did slightly better on the math than the verbal, which was my strong suit. The SATs (and I think most of those ETS tests) are really just puzzles. The main test is often not of how much you know, but of how well you understand the tests. The Princeton Review books (I don't have expe! rience with others) are very good at unveiling the mysteries of how the tests are written and the tricks put in place by the test makers. It is obvious that your daughter is performing well in school; she probably knows the material but is thrown off by the tests. If she is the type of person who can learn on her own, definitely buy a book. I don't have experience with the test prep classes (Kaplan, etc.), so I can't say how they teach or what their success rate is. But if your daughter needs structure and personal instruction to learn, I would guess that those classes are probably your best bet. Heather

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