Introduction to the PSAT The Preliminary SAT (PSAT) The National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT)

Test Date 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.

About 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

National Merit Scholarship Program 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!!

About the PSAT 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.

Critical Reading Has two 25-minute sections 48 Total Questions 13 Sentence Completion Questions 35 Questions Based on Reading Passages

Critical Reading 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

Mathematics Has two 25-minute sections 38 Total Questions 28 Multiple Choice Questions 10 Student Response Questions (Fill in the Grid)

Mathematics Math concepts tested: Number and operations (20-25%) Algebra and functions (35-40%) Geometry and measurement (25-30%) Data analysis, statistics, & probability (10-15%)

Writing One 30-minute section No essay 39 Total Questions 14 Identifying Sentence Errors 20 Improving Sentences 5 Improving Paragraphs

Scoring Multiple Choice Questions: Student Response/Fill in the Grid 1 point for each correct answer Lose ¼ point for each incorrect answer Student Response/Fill in the Grid O points for each incorrect answer Omitted Questions O points for questions not answered Scale: 20-80 for each test section

Scores Students will receive their scores at school in December Students can receive access to online scores and tools through My College QuickStartTM and MyRoadTM.

Test Day 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!!

Test Day Strategies 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

For More Information: 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