1. PSAT Parent night Douglas County High School
Professional School Counseling Department

2. PSAT- General information
Preliminary SAT
Oct 19, 2016, 3+ hours of testing
State of Georgia pays for all 10th graders to test
9th and 11th graders are welcome to test, $18
Selected 11th graders are invited to test based on 10th grade scores

3. Redesigned PSAT/ SAt
Why? College Board identified the score of 1550 as the College and Career Readiness Benchmark for College Success (graduating college in 4 years and maintaining a B+ average). Only 43% of students taking the SAT were meeting the benchmark. Using the previous scale College Board found the benchmark was not reliable
Looking to make an assessment that is useful, open, clear and connected to the classroom
First redesigned SAT was given March, 2016

4. Key Changes to the Psat/sat
Relevant words in context
Command of evidence
Essay analyzing a source
Math focused on 3 key areas- Problem Solving and Data Analysis; Heart of Algebra (mastery of linear equations); Passport to Advanced Math (familiarity with more complex equations)
Problems grounded in real world context
Analysis in science and social studies
No penalty for wrong answers (correct=1 point, wrong= 0 point)

5. Score Report
Your total score- (range is ) is a total of Evidence-Based Writing (range ) and Math (range ).
Ex.: Sample Student’s Total score 960 (EBW-430, M-530)
Score percentiles- compares you against same grade level students.
EX.: Sample Student’s is in the 51st Percentile
PSAT and SAT are now on the same scale- predicted SAT Score
(PSAT is out of 760, the SAT is out of 800 per section to account for increased level of difficulty on the SAT)

6. Score Report Continued
Beneath each score is a scale showing College Readiness Benchmark (different for 10th and 11th grades)
Benchmarks are included to help students understand their level of readiness for college and career training. College Board predicts students in the “green” will have a 75% likelihood of achieving at least a C in first year college courses.
Cross-Test Scores measures student performance on the Social Studies and Science aspects of questions in the Reading and Writing section

7. National merit Scholarship (NMSC)
* Indicates not eligible (9th, and 10th graders), no asterisk indicates College Board recognizes you as eligible for consideration
Selection Index ranges from 48 to 228.
1.6 million entrants, approximately 65,000 of will be recognized in the Fall.
An additional $180 million in scholarships, not attached to NMSC, is available for juniors only

8. Your Scores: Next Steps
Circle indicates where you fall on the College and Career Readiness Benchmark. Green indicates meeting or exceeding the benchmark. Yellow indicates approaching the benchmark. Red indicates the need to strengthen skills
The left side of the page lists student strengths based on correct answers
The right side of the page shows areas to improve and tips on how to focus your efforts

9. Your Question- Level Feedback
The score report on the back page is designed to be used with the test booklet
See student’s answers and the difficulty level for each question
See the questions and answer explanations online!

10. AP Potential
Based on PSAT scores, counselors are able to create a roster of students with “AP Potential”
This roster includes 9th, 10th and 11th grade students that have between a % likelihood of scoring a 3 or higher on AP Exams
Students who are identified still have to take prerequisites and either be recommended by a teacher or complete the parent waiver process
Identified students will receive a letter and invitation

11. What’s Next
Visit studentscores.collegeboard.org to create a College Board account and get your full score report
Create a Khan Academy account at satpractice.org and link it to your College Board account to get free, personalize practice for the SAT (the only College Board endorsed test prep for the redesigned SAT)
Explore your interests through the personalize MyRoad tool and visit bigfuture.org to learn more about careers and majors
Spring of the junior year is the perfect time to take the SAT for the first time, per College Board

12. PSAT Interpretation Video

13. Khan Academy
Khan Academy

14. Questions