Pammy Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 My dd did really well on her PSAT in reading and writing, but as suspected, not so hot in math. Her selection index is 177.. what does that mean? She got a 98 and 97 in reading and writing, and the difference in math was 47. Is that horrible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 My dd did really well on her PSAT in reading and writing, but as suspected, not so hot in math. Her selection index is 177.. what does that mean? She got a 98 and 97 in reading and writing, and the difference in math was 47. Is that horrible? It looks like you are using the percentile rankings rather than the scores. Is that accurate? And are you saying that she scored a percentile ranking of 50% in math (97-47 if I understood the way that you wrote that). 50% would be dead average; so while it is not "horrible", it is significantly lower than her other scores and can probably be improved. Try Chalkdust SAT math review. The index is what is used to choose merit scholar semi-finalists. The cut-off differs by state. For instance, in Wyoming, it is 201; in Virginia 218. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pammy Posted December 8, 2009 Author Share Posted December 8, 2009 her percentiles were 97, 64, and 98. I am not sure if that is related to the selection index or not. The other scores were 65, 47, and 65. So which one constitutes her total PSAT score? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Lynn Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 The total of 65+47+65 or 177. We also noted the total percentile score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon in MD Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Forget about the percentile for a moment and let's talk about SAT equivalency. The PSAT reports scores in double digits....In your case a 65 in both critical reading and writing and a 47 in math. Those would equate to 650 Critical reading, 650 writing and a 470 in math on the SAT. On a 1600 point score a 1120 (CR+M only), on a 2400 point score a 1770. The PSAT is the SAT's little brother and a pretty reasonable predictor of SAT scores. The two 65's are highly respectable, good, solid, even great, scores. (700+ is the brass ring) The 470 is slightly below average, but not in a devastating way. The big problem with the 47 is that it is significantly out of phase with the 65's. That is nearly a 200 point spread in SAT terms which could say to a university, whoa....what happened in math...? I agree with the poster who suggested Chalkdust for SAT math. How are her math courses going? Is math a problem area for her? Is she a high school jr. this year? If so, I'd be looking to do something about that math quickly. Go get the College Boards book 10 real SAT's and try one....see where she stands and then start working on the math, with something like chalkdust and then build from there toward the spring (March)SAT. But, practice a lot....use a review program but practice and see where the problem areas are. Concentrate your efforts on fixing your math problem, at least that is what I think would be most helpful. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pammy Posted December 8, 2009 Author Share Posted December 8, 2009 she had to take Algebra 1 over last year and is just in the beginning of Algebra 2 with Saxon. No formal Geometry, b/c Saxon is supposed to include it (or so I thought). I switched from Teaching Textbooks b/c I heard that TT was too easy and not suitable for college math prep. So, now I am frustrated. Thankfully she is still a sophomore, even though she already has 13 credits and I guess could count as a junior, we put sophomore on the application. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenn in CA Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 I believe after finishing 1/2 of Algebra 2, she will have had all the geometry needed for the PSAT. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. When she takes it for real she should have finished Saxon Algebra 2 and she will have covered all the PSAT math. The more math she has under her belt, though, the better. My kids are in Saxon and I found it to be just fine for PSAT math, and community college math preparation too (16yo ds is in calculus at the cc). Still waiting impatiently for scores though. (I'm basing my comment on their practice test scores) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Also keep in mind that PSAT and SAT math is not straightforward. There are tricks and tips for SAT math that can be learned. Test reveiw books, online free websites (number2.com) and Chalkdust SAT math review should all help her learn some of the strategies and tricks for the SAT math section. HTH, Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 she had to take Algebra 1 over last year and is just in the beginning of Algebra 2 with Saxon. No formal Geometry, b/c Saxon is supposed to include it (or so I thought). I switched from Teaching Textbooks b/c I heard that TT was too easy and not suitable for college math prep. So, now I am frustrated. Thankfully she is still a sophomore, even though she already has 13 credits and I guess could count as a junior, we put sophomore on the application. Don't be too hard on yourself as it isn't necessarily your fault. My oldest is talented in math and decent in English, but not writing. He scores in the upper 90's (percentiles) in math (even having used TT) and reading on both the SAT and ACT, but just the mid 40's (percentile) for writing. I was blaming myself... till my middle son just came along and got in the 98th percentile for writing. They've had the same courses (though my older one was in ps longer) and both had the same outside teacher last year (college prof at a nearby college). Some natural talent lies with the student. Plus, as others have said, SAT math is trickier than normal math problems. It definitely helps to have review books. I like Barron's the best of the ones we've seen and/or bought. Since she's a sophomore, you've got plenty of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Have her try the ACT practice tests. My dd is scoring similarly. I think the ACT will be better for her since in it the math is only 1/4 of the total score versus 1/3. Not only that, since two of the sections are reading (one is reading lit and social science, and the other is reading science and interpreting graphs) she will do well on both of these as well as her English which is more attuned with standard English and less with grammar. ALso, check if the problem is that she is answering too many wrong. I tried to help my dd with this by telling her to skip problems she had no clue about but I can see from the booklet that she normally had some clue but not enough. (SHE would narrow down to two with the right choice being one of the two often but she would choose the wrong one). THe ACT also doesn't penalize for wrong answers. Now it is equally hard, if not harder to get the very high scores in ACT. FOr my dd, I will be totally happy if she ends up with a composite of 28 or 29. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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