Full-length practice test for new PSAT available from College Board

[Bristayl]

A full-length practice test for the PSAT that will be administered this October is now available here:

 

https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat-suite-assessments/practice/practice-tests

 

However, they will not be posting how to convert your raw score to a scaled score until summer.

 

The page also says that SAT practice tests will be available in early June. 

 

The Khan Academy official practice was originally supposed to be ready by May, but now it says June.

[Luckymama]

Interesting.

 

Quick glance of the math sections showed only 4 of the 48 problems are related to geometry. Dd will not be happy about that change, though I expect she is a minority.

[3andme]

Here's a nice video review of the new PSAT if you don't want to wade through the actual test.

 

[VANURSEPRAC]

Here's a nice

of the new PSAT if you don't want to wade through the actual test.

 

 

 

 

Who is this guy? I would like to follow him.

[3andme]

Here's his web site Reason Prep.

[FloridaLisa]

Thanks for these resources! I'm collecting up resources to share locally.  

 

Lisa

[mjbucks1]

Quick glance of the math sections showed only 4 of the 48 problems are related to geometry. Dd will not be happy about that change, though I expect she is a minority.

 

 

My son was actually glad he took the PSAT this year because he knew the difficult vocabulary was going to be gone and he felt that is where he had an edge :001_smile: .  He was correct because he only missed on question on both the reading and writing section and scored a 225 overall.  This does make me wonder how the test will separate out the top 1%.

[snowbeltmom]

My son was actually glad he took the PSAT this year because he knew the difficult vocabulary was going to be gone and he felt that is where he had an edge :001_smile: .  He was correct because he only missed on question on both the reading and writing section and scored a 225 overall.  This does make me wonder how the test will separate out the top 1%.

 

My guess is that the test will no longer separate out the top 1% and careless mistakes on the new test will be even more costly than they are now on the current SAT.

 

[Luckymama]

My guess is that the test will no longer separate out the top 1% and careless mistakes on the new test will be even more costly than they are now on the current SAT.

 

And this makes me nervous. Dd's ninth grade PSAT score put her in the current Commended range. NMSF would open up so many more doors for her.

[Classic Mom]

Has anyone used Reason Prep?  Reviews?

[McLinda]

Excellent, OP!  Thanks!

[VANURSEPRAC]

I wonder if there is a place where one could see the road that one walks to contend for NMF.  Mom of public TX 6th grader :bigear:  :bigear:  :bigear:  :bigear:

[wapiti]

A review of the new PSAT at Pwnthesat http://pwnthesat.com/wp/2015/03/our-first-real-glimpse-at-the-new-psat/

Edited September 15, 2016 by wapiti

[showelott]

@Vanurseprac - I know Celest Horton over at How To Pay For College HQ has more info for kids going for NMF.

 

@Luckymama - All the bugs will be worked out by the time your daughter is ready for the SAT in two more years. You'll have a lot more material to prep with by then.

[snowbeltmom]

A review of the new PSAT at Pwnthesat http://pwnthesat.com/wp/2015/03/our-first-real-glimpse-at-the-new-psat/

 

Eta, the video linked above is very helpful.  If the new SAT ends up being just like the ACT but not as tightly-timed, that would point my dd toward the SAT.

 

I'm really glad my dd will not take the test until 2018 (I think? maybe fall 2017).  On the other hand, if the guy in the video is correct, if large numbers of people crush the test such that there's not much tail, one wonders whether the CB might decide to amp up the challenge in the year or two following.

 

The current SAT is incapable of discerning the top math students.  As a result, many of the top schools ask students to also submit an SAT II Math score.  If the reading section on the new SAT is not capable of discerning the top percentiles, I would not be surprised to see colleges begin asking students to submit an SAT II Literature score as well.

[3andme]

A few more reviews of the new PSAT:

 

The Redesigned PSAT: Delivering Opporunity or a Missed Opportunity

 

Impressions on the New Practice PSAT

 

College Board Steps Back from Harder PSAT

[Vida Winter]

Thank you OP for the video - Reason Prep looks like a great resource.

[RootAnn]

Hmm. I haven't been following the PSAT/SAT changes as much as the ACT changes. This is the first time I've heard there will be a PSAT 9, PSAT 10, and then the PSAT/NMSQT version.

I wonder if we can continue to have our kids take the "jr level" PSAT as a practice -- even when they are a 9th grader? I would suppose so?

[wapiti]

A few more reviews of the new PSAT:

 

The Redesigned PSAT: Delivering Opporunity or a Missed Opportunity

 

Impressions on the New Practice PSAT

 

College Board Steps Back from Harder PSAT

 

Thanks for these links.

Edited September 15, 2016 by wapiti

[snowbeltmom]

Hmm. I haven't been following the PSAT/SAT changes as much as the ACT changes. This is the first time I've heard there will be a PSAT 9, PSAT 10, and then the PSAT/NMSQT version.

I wonder if we can continue to have our kids take the "jr level" PSAT as a practice -- even when they are a 9th grader? I would suppose so?

 

When is the ACT changing? 

 

[RootAnn]

I believe the ACT is changing every single time it is being administered. They are pushing that their test changes are seamless -- unlike the SAT. They are trying new things even now, I believe, a little at a time.

[wapiti]

Bumping to add an interesting review I came across this morning:  https://educationrealist.wordpress.com/2015/04/12/evaluating-the-new-psat-reading-and-writing/ A few snippets:

 

The new PSAT reading section looks very similar to the current ACT reading test in structure and reading demands. The paired passage and the questions types are the only holdover from the old SAT/PSAT structure. The only new feature is actually a cobbled up homage to the ACT science test in the form of occasional table or graph analysis.

 

Writing

 

I am so flummoxed by the overt plagiarism in this section that I seriously wonder if the test I have isn’t a fake, designed to flush out leaks within the College Board. This can’t be serious.

The College Board and the poorly informed reporters will make much of the data analysis questions, but I hope to see any such claims addressed in the context of the ACT’s considerably more challenging data analysis section. The ACT should change the name; the “Science†section only uses science contexts to test data analysis. All the College Board has done is add a few questions and figures. Weak tea compared to the ACT.

 

Same reviewer, math https://educationrealist.wordpress.com/2015/04/16/evaluating-the-new-psat-math/ :

 

​But oh, my lord, the problems. They aren’t just difficult. The original, pre-2005 SAT had a lot of tough questions. But those questions relied on logic and intelligence—that is, they sought out aptitude. So a classic “diamond in the rough†who hadn’t had access to advanced math could still score quite well. Meanwhile, on both the pre and post 2005 tests, kids who weren’t terribly advanced in either ability or transcript faced a test that had plenty of familiar material, with or without coaching, because the bulk of the test is arithmetic, algebra I, and geometry.

 

The new PSAT and, presumably, the SAT, is impossible to do unless the student has taken and understood two years of algebra. Some will push back and say oh, don’t be silly, all the linear systems work is covered in algebra I. Yeah, but kids don’t really get it then. Not even many of the top students. You need two years of algebra even as a strong student, to be able to work these problems with the speed and confidence needed to get most of these answers in the time required.

The difficulty level I see in this new PSAT makes me wonder what the hell the organization is up to. How can the test will reveal anything meaningful about kids who a) haven’t yet taken algebra 2 or b) have taken algebra 2 but didn’t really understand it? And if David Coleman’s answer is “Those testers aren’t ready for college so they shouldn’t be taking the test†then I have deep doubts that David Coleman understands the market for college admissions tests.

That’s the big news: the new PSAT is pushing quadratic fluency in a big way.

No doubt there’s a way to game this problem with the answer choices that I’m missing, but to solve this in the forward fashion you either have to use the quadratic formula or, as I said, find all the factors of 1890, which is exactly what the answer document suggests. I know of no standardized test that requires knowledge of the quadratic formula. 

Those who don’t know the basic algorithm will have to figure out how to coordinate the equations to solve the problem, which is much more difficult. So this problem represents dramatically different levels of difficulty based on whether or not the student has been taught the algorithm. And in that case, the problem is quite straightforward, so should be coded as of Medium difficulty. But no, it’s tagged as Hard. As is this extremely simple graph interpretation problem. I’m confused.

Testers will get a little more time to work much harder problems. Geometry has disappeared almost entirely. Quadratics beefed up to the point of requiring a steroids test. Inexplicable “calc/no calc†categorization. College Board didn’t rip off the ACT math section. If the new PSAT is any indication, I do not see how the SAT can be used by the same population for the same purpose unless the CB does very clever things with the grading scale

[idnib]

Interesting, wapiti, thanks for posting, This sounds like a different test when compared to the reviewer in post #3, no?

[RootAnn]

Well, I do see some similarities between the two reviews -- a focus on algebra & algorithms, for instance.

[idnib]

Well, I do see some similarities between the two reviews -- a focus on algebra & algorithms, for instance.

 

Yes, that's true. I thought I added that to my post. I guess I was thinking in terms of difficulty, with one review saying it's much easier and the other more difficult.

[Grantmom]

If you take both the SAT and the ACT, to see which one you do better on, do you have to report both in your college app if one is not good?  For example, if you have other SAT subject tests to report, but you are one of the first taking the new SAT and you don't do so well, but you also take the ACT and knock it out of the park, can you not report your SAT score?  Or will it show up any way because you need to send the SAT subject tests from the CB?

 

I feel like this is going to be a tough transition with the SAT fro students needing to take it in the next year or two.  If it really does turn out to be "too easy" could they really crank up the challenge in subsequent editions of the test soon after the first few?  Or would that require another formal revision?

[Sherri in MI]

Thanks everyone for sharing the info and reviews.  It's very helpful as my ds will be taking the PSAT in the Fall. 

 

All of this is giving me a headache!!!  Why can't they just do away with these tests altogether??  Do they really test a student's true ability to do well in college?  Way too much time and effort going into the tests, instead of students studying their subjects. 

 

I'm so annoyed as this is going to affect my ds.  He is finishing Geometry this year.  Algebra I, which he did last year, was not his strong suit.  Won't be doing Algebra II until this coming year, which will not help him for the PSAT.

 

My ds just took an SAT prep course this past winter & now, with the new test, it all goes out the window!  It feels like an exercise in futility.

 

He has taken the ACT twice through NUMATS.  He brought his section and composite scores up the second time.  He very well in the Reading and Writing sections, very poorly in the Math & so-so in the Science (which as someone pointed out is really Data Analysis).  I'm worried about him.  His standarized test math scores are always a lot lower than his Math tests at home.  I'm worried.

 

I'm not so much worried about college admissions as I am financial aid.  We will not be able to afford college without lots of financial aid.

[idnib]

He has taken the ACT twice through NUMATS.  He brought his section and composite scores up the second time.  He very well in the Reading and Writing sections, very poorly in the Math & so-so in the Science (which as someone pointed out is really Data Analysis).  I'm worried about him.  His standarized test math scores are always a lot lower than his Math tests at home.  I'm worried.

 

Are the math tests at home for his curriculum or ACT practice exams? Are they timed?

[Arcadia]

Wapiti,

 

Somehow the quote button is missing on my phone for this thread.

My oldest just finished all four sections of the sample PSAT. He could do the English sections (section 1 & 2) within the time limits but was confused by the sect 1 test questions. He has always been weaker in reading comprehension for standardised tests so his section 1 score wasn't unexpected.

He cleared the math sections (3 & 4) with time to spare and no issues. He had trigonometry in 6th/7th grade K12 math and we just reviewed trigo again recently. (He was trying to figure out Archimedes algorithm)