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

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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!!

5. 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.

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

7. 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

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

9. 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%)

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

11. 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: for each test section

12. 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.

13. 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!!

14. 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

15. For More Information:
Review the Official Student Guide to the PSAT/NMSQT that you received last month
Visit the College Board website:
Visit the National Merit Scholarship Program website: