PSAT, SAT, ACT---what does
it all mean to me
Scores
Content Tested
Purpose
PSAT
20-80
Reading,
Writing,
Math
Merit Scholarship,
Corporate and
University
Scholarships, College
Reviews,
Practice for SAT, ACT
SAT
200-800
Reading,
Writing,
Math
Bright Futures, College
Admissions, Admission
into Honors Programs,
College/University
Scholarship
ACT
1-36
Reading,
Writing,
Math,
Science
Bright Futures, College
Admissions, Admission
into Honors Programs,
College/University
Scholarship
What are the National Merit Scholarships—
who gets them?
The National Merit Corporation awards
National Merit scholarships:
Of all the juniors who take the exam, 1.5
million,
• 50,000 receive letters of commendation
• 16,000 become semi-finalists
• 14,000 become finalists
• 8,500 receive National Merit Scholarships
($2,500 per year)
I won’t be one of
8,500 winners—I
have better things
to do.
Scoring high enough on the PSAT to become a
Scholar, a Finalist or a Semi-Finalist can equal big
money at some schools—public and private.
School
National Merit Finalist
National Merit Semi-Finalist
University of
Alabama
Full ride
Full tuition with 3.5 GPA guaranteed
University of
AlabamaHuntsville
Full ride
Full tuition plus guaranteed
Alabama State
University
Full ride guaranteed
Full ride guaranteed
Auburn University Full tuition plus guaranteed
U of Central
Full tuition plus
Florida
University of
Kentucky
Full tuition plus guaranteed
$9,000.00 guaranteed
Full ride first year & full tuition plus Full ride first year & full tuition plus
for remaining 3 years guaranteed for remaining 3 years guaranteed
University of
Full tuition plus guaranteed
Nebraska, Lincoln
Full tuition plus guaranteed
Ohio State
University
Full tuition
Full tuition
Tests are long,
difficult, and
boring—what
else will I gain?
The test takes 2 hours and 10
minutes.
The questions range from
easy to difficult.
For the first time in your high
school career, your test
scores will be compared to
the scores of students across
the country who will be
applying for college in the
2014-2015 school year.
I always get 4’s or 5’s on FCAT---I
don’t have to worry about the SAT or
ACT. So, the PSAT won’t tell me
anything useful.
Actually, there is not a
correlation of FCAT scores
to SAT or ACT scores. The
content and level of
difficulty are very
different.
Your best indicator of how
you will perform on the
SAT or ACT is the PSAT.
So, exactly what
will I learn from
my scores and
how do my scores
translate into SAT
or ACT scores?
A quick way to estimate this student’s SAT score would be to add
a zero:
Critical Reading: 590 Mathematics: 750
Writing: 630
Reading
SAT
800
770
740
710
680
650
620
590
560
530
500
ACT
36
35
33
32
31
29
27
25
24
22
20
Convert ACT to SAT
Math
%
SAT
ACT
99
800
36
99
770
33
98
740
31
96
710
30
93
680
28
90
650
26
84
620
25
78
590
24
71
560
22
61
530
21
51
500
19
%
99
98
96
94
90
85
80
72
64
55
45
What else can
my PSAT scores
tell me about
my test-taking
abilities?
The analysis shows
you which
questions you
answered correctly.
It also shows you
whether the
questions you
missed were
categorized as easy,
medium, or hard
for level of
difficulty.
The analysis of the
math questions
also shows you the
type of math
question you
answered
incorrectly:
algebra, geometry,
number sense, or
data analysis.
The analysis also shows a total picture of the number and types
of questions you answered incorrectly and the number of points
you lost because of incorrect answers (1/4 point for each
incorrect answer is subtracted from your total correct).
Yeah, so
how does all
this
information
help me?
DO YOU WANT TO GET THE VERY BEST
POSSIBLE SCORE THAT YOU CAN ON THE SAT
OR ACT AND EARN SCHOLARSHIPS AND
ADMITTANCE INTO A COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY
OF YOUR CHOICE?
Or, would you rather spend
several Saturday mornings
taking and retaking SAT’s and
ACT’s only to see your scores
fluctuate slightly and then have
to listen to your parents
complain that YOU JUST
AREN’T TAKING THESE TESTS
SERIOUSLY!!!!
If you prepare correctly, you should not have to
retake college entrance exams several times.
Examining your PSAT scores with your parents
and you counselor will help you understand
• If you are better suited for SAT (strong
vocabulary skills, strong critical reading skills,
strong writing scores, decent math scores)
• Or ACT (your math scores were significantly
higher than your reading or writing scores)
Examining your math scores will let you
know what areas of math you need to review
and strengthen.
If the math questions you missed were in the
easy and medium category, you know you
need to practice these types of questions
because getting all the easy and medium
questions correct can earn you a score of
600 on SAT or 26 on ACT.
If you answered the
easy and most of the
medium math
questions correctly,
then you know you
need to practice the
more difficult questions
before you take the SAT
or ACT.
Why is there a writing
score but no essay?
Writing questions are actually editing questions . Your
knowledge of grammar and usage is measured rather than
your ability to compose an essay. There will be a writing
section on the SAT and ACT, but there will be a multiple
choice section, also. Your PSAT writing score will help you
determine how much you need to review grammar and
usage.
Along with your PSAT score sheet,
you will also receive your test
booklet so that you can look over
the questions you answered
incorrectly. This process will give
you insight into your test –taking
skills (did you miss questions you
should have answered correctly
or did you bubble incorrectly?)
Your SAT and ACT scores are
extremely important in unlocking
the next door to your future. Taking
the PSAT is an invaluable tool for
letting you know how much and
what type of preparation you need
to complete before you take those
tests.
There is no good reason NOT to
take the test as long as you are able
to come to school on test day.
You don’t understand—I
have terrible test
anxiety!
Taking the PSAT will give you practice—and
you need to practice so that you will feel
confident and more relaxed when you take
the SAT or ACT.
Finally, once you have taken the PSAT, all
sorts of colleges and universities will send you
letters telling you they want you to apply—it’s
really cool!
TEST YOUR MATH
The sum of five positive integers is 100. If the smallest
of these integers is 10, what is the largest possible value
of one of the other four integers?
A) 46
B) 54
C) 64
D) 84
E) 90
You want to find the largest possible
integer that will be added to 10 and 3 other
integers that must be greater than 10. The
smallest integers greater than 10 are 11, 12,
and 13. The sum of 11, 12, and 13 is 36.
Subtracting 36 from 100 leaves 54.
54 +10+ 11 + 12 + 13 = 100
If x ≠ o and 5𝑦 = 𝑥 5, then
A) 1/5
B)
1
5
C) 1
D)
5
E) 5 5
𝑦 5
5𝑥
=
5𝑦 = 𝑥 5
5𝑦
5
5x=
𝑦 5
25𝑦
5
𝑦 5
1
×
25
25
5
25
5
25𝑦
=x
25𝑦
5