PSAT Test

[ColoradoBuffaloMom]

My daughter is a sophomore in High School and her counselor has recommended she take the PSAT next month. Has anyone's child taken the PSAT as a sophomore? Do you think it is worthwhile to take the test as a Sophomore?

If my DD takes the test again as a Junior do they average her two scores or are they seperate? If they don't average the two scores, I figure it can't hurt to take the test.

What do you think?

 

[Serena]

It won't hurt to take it and it will help in a lot of ways.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Won't she take the SAT as a junior instead of the PSAT?

 

[ColoradoBuffaloMom]

Won't she take the SAT as a junior instead of the PSAT?

I don't know. I think so though. She is my first child in HS so we are new to all of this.

Elise

 

[CherCrazy]

There are some scholarships that are not available to your child unless he/she takes the PSAT...I forget which one, but learned the hard way on that.

PSAT's are practice for the real thing...the more the merrier!!

 

[SarahandPaul]

The PSAT is a great practice device. But keep in mine I believe the PSAT is what the military uses to recruit. If she does well on it you will get a few calls. At least that was what happened with me.



-Paul

 

[DVCLiz]

The PSAT is a great practice device. But keep in mine I believe the PSAT is what the military uses to recruit. If she does well on it you will get a few calls. At least that was what happened with me.



-Paul

I'm sorry, but I don't believe this is true. The PSAT scores are sent to the school, not to any outside organization. Even SAT scores can't be accessed unless the student has entered a code to allow the score to be sent to a particular college. Maybe someone at your school had access and made some phone calls, but I don't see how a military recruiter could possibily get hold of them.

PSAT's are a sophomore test at my DD's high school. SATs are taken in the junior year, with another opportunity in the fall of senior year (DD will take them again on Oct. 8.) Keep in mind that some students do better on the ACT, so have her take them in her junior year as well (DD didn't, so she took them this morning.)

The more practice the better!!!!

 

[ColoradoBuffaloMom]

Thanks everyone for your replies. My DD is a good student so it can't hurt her to practice taking the PSAT and see what these types of tests are like.

I know at my kids HS, we parents can sign a form at registration to not release our kid's names to military recruiters which is what I did. If either of my kids wants to do that, then they will find the recruiters.

Again, thanks all!

 

[rascalmom]

The PSAT's are the first step in the National Merit Scholar program. If you do well on the PSAT, you are placed in the finalist group of about 15,000 students. Those students then take the SAT to determine who actually get award - about 8,000 per year.

The PSAT is required for all juniors at my dd's school, sophomores had the option to take it last year.

 

[georgina]

According to the National Merit website, PSAT must be taken in the junior year for the scholarship part of it. (Unless they are graduating early) My DD's school recommends that they take it as sophomores for practice, but she would have to retake it as a junior to qualify for the National merit scholarships. They do not average the scores. The scholarships are based solely on the PSAT results, not the SAT.

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

My school required that we take the PSATs our sophomore and junior year and the SAT at the end of our junior year.
Between my sophomore and junior year my PSAT score went from the 71 percentile to the 89 percentile. Between my junior PSAT and my SAT score I jumped from an 1160 to a 1230.
I would not have done as well on my SAT had it not been for my PSAT sophomore and junior year.

 

[jsmith]

I also have a child in colorado HS-if she takes the PSAT this year it will be practice only and not a score that will be used for national merit qualifying or anything-that is done only from scores in the junior year-however taking it this year would be good practice and give her an idea of those areas that are weak-i would also have her take the ACT and SAT this year as well for practice-both my sons began takeing them in 9th grade-the pay off is higher scores when it counts and colleges take the highest score a student gets rather than the most recent.
PSAT has nothing whatso ever to do with military recruiting-there are two sources recruiters use-the No child left behind act requires high schools to provide names and addresses of High school students approaching thier 17th birthday to recruiters-colorado law requires that you be given the opportunity to OPT out and you well be sent a letter by the school district at the beginning of her 11th grade year. Also most HS seniors take the ASVAB batttery-these are given by the school district and some districts have all seniors take them-they are specific to the military and recruiters mostly use the scores from those to identify young people who are good candidates ( my son maxed it and 4 years later they still call us)

 

[YetanotherMouseFan]

Also, as a general rule, the more times you take a standardized test, the better you do. I think I read up to 20% better, without additional study, just on familiarity. Worked for me on the GRE!

 

[lizanne]

If you decide she should take it this year, she should also take it in Junior year. I believe the colleges send information to the students who take the PSAT in Junior year.

I say this because my children took it Junior year and for each one of them we were innundated with information from what seemed like every college in existance. My boss's daughter took them in her Sophmore year only and she never received any information.

We didn't understand why she didn't get any mailings (I have a son the same age). Well, the boss's Son took them in his Junior year and he got all the mailings.

While most of these mailings end up in the trash, there is some valuable information. One of my sons followed up on some info he received and ended up getting a $50,000 scholarship. We wouldn't have know about it without those mailings.

About the calls from the military. In our local public schools they give a test to see what occupation would be good for you. I know some kids got calls from the Services after taking that test.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

DS is a Freshman and is opting to take the PSAT in a couple of weeks. They highly recommend freshmen take it. It is a requirement for all Sophomores at his school and is paid for by the state. Parents can opt their child out if they wish.

This is part of what our e-mail said,:

The PSAT is a practice test for the SAT and includes Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II math skills. It is the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship Corporation for JUNIORS only.

 

[SunFloridaDisney]

My DS is a sophomore and they are highly encouraged to take PSAT this fall. Junior year generally they start with SAT and/or ACT. DS is not a good test taker and generally has a struggle with school, so I think its good for him to get an idea of what this will be, and possibly how to focus on studying.

Now, my DD 7th grader is also signed up to take a test this fall through Duke University for selected 7th graders based on standardized test scores from last year. She is very high ranking in her class, and from what I understand this is sort of a PRE - PSAT, again, to give them a feel for what the tests are like, and for their names to get out there for possible scholarships, etc.

 

[tar heel]

Unless it's changed the test given to 7th graders for TIP IS the SAT and it has absolutely nothing to do the with getting college scholarships. If a student makes the minimum score, they will be invited to summer/weekend seminars that are high quality but $$$$. They will also get a couple of newsletters.

It's always a good idea to take the PSAT for practice, especially for a high-achieving student that might make the National Merit cut. The junior year PSAT is the only one that counts, though.

I don't think the PSAT has anything to do with military recruiting. My oldest son has a National Merit and he only got one military recruiting call -- during the call the recruiter asked him what he made on the SAT. I know some other kids who were called constantly.

 

[fanofmickey]

IMO, students should take it every chance they get because scores will tend to get a little higher each time, and it is great practice for the SAT.

Eighth graders in the Duke TIP do take the SAT. Our school system pays for every ninth and tenth grader to take the PSAT at school during school hours. The results are sent only to you and your high school. In the eleventh grade, if you want to be considered for the National Merit Scholarship, you must sign-up to take the PSAT and pay the fee (I'm thinking it was less than $20). This was taken at the same time as the 9th and 10th graders (usually in October here).

My junior student will be taking the SAT (his first since the 8th grade) on October 8, and the PSAT will be, I think, later that month. SAT scores are only sent to schools that YOU list, otherwise they are sent only to you and your high school.

Good luck to everyone on their tests this year!

 

[Kimberly]

My daughter is a sophomore in High School and her counselor has recommended she take the PSAT next month. Has anyone's child taken the PSAT as a sophomore? Do you think it is worthwhile to take the test as a Sophomore?

If my DD takes the test again as a Junior do they average her two scores or are they seperate? If they don't average the two scores, I figure it can't hurt to take the test.

What do you think?

The greater preparation she has, the better off she will be. Even though people say that the SAT's aren't that important (where it actually is the most important test of your life, i was less concerned about the MCATs) or all that difficult, they are actually just a measure of how well a particular student can handle a test. The best practice for the SAT is repetition, repetition, repetition...

My advice. Have her take them as soon as humanly possible, and even perhaps enroll her in a SAT prep course at a local community college. My parents did this for me, and even though i absolutely dispised it at the time, i am truely grateful for it. I would not have gotten into as competitive of a school if i had not gone through the SAT prep course. It's beneficial even for straight A students.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...Now, my DD 7th grader is also signed up to take a test this fall through Duke University for selected 7th graders based on standardized test scores from last year. She is very high ranking in her class, and from what I understand this is sort of a PRE - PSAT, again, to give them a feel for what the tests are like, and for their names to get out there for possible scholarships, etc.

My son also got a letter from school for this. So he's signing up for the SAT in December. On the flyer we got, it was kind of humorous to read about the 7th graders taking the test. It says that they take the test with the high school kids who will be slightly rattled at the 7th graders presence at the test. He's kind of excited about it, as are we. He goes to a Catholic school and has about 55 kids in the 7th grade. Last year 3 kids at his school got this. This year, he is one of ten.