1. PSAT Scores – Now What? Mariana Paredes The Princeton Review Saint Bonaventure High School January 22nd 2009

2. Page 2 What is the PSAT? The PSAT serves two roles. National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test A competition for both recognition and scholarship Commended scholar versus semi-finalist

3. Page 3 What is the PSAT? The PSAT serves two roles. Practice for the SAT The PSAT is written by the makers of the SAT A window to the testing soul

4. Page 4 What’s on the PSAT? What does the PSAT measure? They say: Critical reading skills Extracting information from dense passages and filling in missing bits from sentences Math skills Algebra 1, basic geometry and arithmetic Writing skills Grammar

5. Page 5 What’s on the PSAT? What does the PSAT measure? The Princeton Review says: Accuracy over speed Performance under time constraints Bubble skill, not accumulated knowledge

6. Page 6 The PSAT vs. the SAT How does the SAT compare to the PSAT? The SAT is: More mathematically advanced Different in regards to the writing section, containing an essay Considerably longer

7. Page 7 How’s it scored? Your raw score is determined as follows: Each correct response: 1 point Each blank response: 0 points Each incorrect response: On a multiple choice question: -¼ point On a student-produced response: 0 points This raw score is then scaled and converted into a score between 20 and 80 for each of the three sections – math, critical reading and writing skills

8. Page 8 So what’s this?

9. Page 9 It’s a diagnostic report Your Score Report Gives You: Your scores The average scores for juniors are: 48 in critical reading 49 in math 49 in writing skills

10. Page 10 The average scores for sophomores are: 45 in verbal 46 in math 46 in writing skills

11. Page 11 It’s a diagnostic report Your Score Report Gives You: A selection index- used for National Merit Ranges An estimation of the point spread you would be expected to fall between should you take retake the test

12. Page 12 It’s a diagnostic report Your Score Report Gives You: Percentiles Percentiles help you compare your performance on the PSAT to the performance of similar students. They tell you which percentage of students you’ve scored above. If you’re a junior, you’re compared to other juniors If you are a non-junior, you are compared to other non-juniors.

13. Page 13 It’s a diagnostic report Your Score Report Gives You: An estimated SAT score SAT scores range from 200 to 800 per section. A 52 is roughly to a 520 on the SAT.

14. Page 14 It’s a diagnostic report Your Score Report Gives You: The ability to review your test The score report displays the correct answer, your answer, and the level of difficulty for each question The score report also provides you with a computer- analyzed diagnosis of patterns of mistakes

15. Page 15 So what do you do? Did I answer all of the easy questions? Personal Order of Difficulty

16. Page 16 So what do you do? Did I run out of time? Using your time effectively The Princeton Review 67% rule

17. Page 17 Your Resources The Princeton Review Online The Best 361 Counselor-O-Matic Career Quiz College Applications www.princetonreview.com

18. Page 18 Your Resources College Board Quickstart www.collegeboard.com Access code Parent section for scholarships and loans Student section with college planning and selection tools

19. Page 19 Your Resources National Merit www.nationalmerit.org Detailed scholarship information

20. Page 20 Your Resources Bob Hahn bhahn@saintbonaventure.com (805) 648-6836 x 122 Natalie Lajoie nlajoie@saintbonaventure.com (805) 648-6836 x 127 Mariana Paredes Info.SB@review.com (805) 685-2221 www.princetonreview.com