Understanding your
PSAT and PLAN Results
One Step Closer to Making Your
College Dreams Come True
• By taking the PSAT and the
PLAN, you have already taken
your first steps toward college.
• Both tests show you the kinds
of reading, math and writing
skills you will need to succeed
in college.
Lue Healy, Effingham County High School, 2013
These are PRACTICE TESTS
•
•
•
PLAN=Practice for ACT
PSAT=Practice for SAT
• The PSAT and PLAN tests don’t count
toward college admission because they are
NOT official scores but the results DO give
you feedback on the strengths and
weaknesses in your education so you can
start thinking about colleges, majors and
careers
• The tests provide preparation for the SAT
and ACT: they use the same question types,
format, and testing conditions as the real
SAT and ACT.
YES
Scores from the ACT and the SAT are
an important part of your college
admissions applications and your
scores will help determine where you
will be admitted and whether you will
be admitted!
• A sort of pre-SAT that
measures academic skills
you’ll need for college
and predicts a score on
the SAT.
• Question Types:
The same, except the PSAT does not have an
essay component.
• Length:
The PSAT is 2 hours, 10 minutes.
The SAT is 3 hours, 45 minutes.
• Level of Difficulty:
The PSAT does not have 11th grade-level
math questions.
Your PSAT Score
Report:
• Contains information
to help you improve
your academic skills.
• Lists skills that you
have the best chance
of improving with
additional work.
• Includes an the Online
ACCESS Code at the
bottom score sheet to
let you access lots of
valuable information.
Scale:
• 20-80 for each test
section
Averages:
• 11th Graders: 47-50
• 10th Graders: 43-46
To approximate SAT
Scores:
Add a “0” to the end
of your score!
PSAT scores cannot
be used for college
admission!
Understanding
Your
PSAT
Results
Just as in the SAT,
there are Three
Major Scores
• Critical Reading
• Mathematics
• Writing
Score range. If you were to
take the test again many
times, your predicted scores
would fall in this range
Score
Percentile
If you are a junior, your
scores are compared to those
of other juniors.
If you are a sophomore or
younger student, your scores
are compared to those of
sophomores.
Predicted SAT Score
You can see your projected SAT
score online in My College
QuickStart
(www.collegeboard.org/quickstart).
Answers
Your test booklet has been returned so you
can review your answers.
1st column – number of question
2nd column – correct answer
3rd column - √ means correct
0 means omitted
Alphabetical letter means
incorrect answer you chose
4th column – Level of difficulty
E= Easy
M= Medium
H= Hard
Student produced answers:
Some math problems required you to grid in
answers instead of selecting an option. For these
questions, the correct answers are written in
here.
A sort of pre-ACT that
measures the same skills
you’ll need for the ACT
and measures skills you
will need for college too!
• Question Types:
The same, except the PLAN does not have an
essay component.
• Length:
The PLAN is 1 hours, 55 minutes.
The ACT is 2 hours, 55 minutes. (plus 20
more for writing section which all Georgia
students should take!)
• .
Each of the four sections of the test are scored
Math
English
Science Reasoning
Reading Comprehension
You can earn a score between 9-32 on each.
The scores are averaged together to get a
Composite Score
Let’s take a closer look at your
PLAN score
The Composite score is the average of
the four sections of the test – English,
math, reading and science.
The arrows here show the percentage of
students that you scored higher than in the US
and in your school on the PLAN
How Ready Will I Be for College?
PLAN BENCHMARK
SCORES
Grade 10 PLAN
Benchmark Scores
10th grade students that score
at or above the PLAN
BENCHMARK scores are likely
ON TRACK to develop the skills
necessary to be a successful
college student in that subject
area by the time they graduate
from high school.
• English – 15
• Math – 19
• Reading – 17
• Science -21
Don ’t panic! Remember that
you are a 10th grader and not
a senior and you are
developing more skills every
day that will help you test
more successfully! Most
students will improve their
scores when they test again!
On the other hand, don’t allow
yourself to just give up and say,“ I am a
TERRIBLE test taker!”
It is important to learn to be a better test taker!
•
• Going to college is going to involve lots of tests!
Most professions and occupations depend on your performing well on a test!
These include medicine, nursing, electrician, accountant, engineer, truck driver,
police officer, teacher, physical therapist, veterinarian, and hundreds more fields you
might choose to enter!
Your getting a license in these areas depends on your passing a licensing
exam! So start now learning to be a better test taker!
Read!
• Continuous reading improves vocabulary and develops essential
skills.
• Read more books than just those required for class.
Take Challenging Courses!
• This will help you to develop and strengthen your critical thinking
skills.
Take Some TIMED Practice Tests to Learn to Pace Yourself!
Take the Test Seriously Every Time you Test!
When you take the REAL SAT OR ACT
remember these tips:
• Read all of the directions.
• Read all of each question’s answer
choices.
• Do scratch work in the test book.
• PACE yourself – don’t spend too long
on any one question!
Knowing How and When to Guess Can
Also Improve Your Future Score!
ACT
???
• Always Guess!
• Answer every question
even if you don’t have
time to get through
them all, bubble
something in for each
question
• There is NO penalty for
guessing
???
SAT
• There is a penalty for
guessing
• If you have NO idea of
the answer, leave the
question blank!
• If you can eliminate
some answers so you
are choosing between
three, ALWAYS guess!
Focus on YOUR strengths when
deciding………….
What IS the best test for me to take for college
admission?
SAT
ACT
Section score range
200-800
9-36
Test Score range
600-2400
9-36
PSAT
PLAN
20-80
60-240
9-32
9-32
Section score range
Test Score range
Let’s compare your test scores!
MY PLAN Score
Find your PLAN
Composite Score
On your Score Sheet
The student we have been
using as an example made an
18
ACT Composite Score
MY PSAT SCORE
Add together your PSAT
reading, math, and writing
scores.
The student we have been
using as an example had scores
of:
50 Critical reading
52 Math
44 Writing
146
Total PSAT score
COMPARE YOUR
PLAN and PSAT Scores
PLAN Score
32
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
24
23
22
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
PSAT (Reading,
Writing, and Math)
Score
240
234
226
219
213
204
198
192
186
182
176
170
165
159
153
150
141
135
129
121
114
106
100
90
78
75
To find which test you will
probably do best on, compare
your total three part PSAT
score to your Composite PLAN
Score using this chart. Which
score was higher on the
chart?
For example, an 18 composite
on the PLAN would be lower
than a 146 on the PSAT!
This student should probably
take the SAT!
Some students don’t need to take the
SAT or the ACT! COMPASS, Maybe?
Technical and two
year colleges
You can choose to take an
easier test for admission
that is usually free called the
COMPASS Test.
Four year Colleges
You must take the ACT
or the SAT for
admission!
You cannot use the
COMPASS test for
admission.
Moving on with your college
plans……………
• YOUR PLAN and PSAT
booklets and score
sheets are valuable
resources for helping
you prepare for college
admissions testing.
• Keep them and use
them wisely to help
make your college
dreams come true!