choirfarm Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I just realized that TX score for the PSAT cutoff went up 4 points this past year to 219. There is no way. I was thinking 215 would be hard... Maybe I'll be surprised. I have a couple of weeks until I get his score anyway. Last year I didn't get his scores until Dec 14th. Just curious. Still don't understand why they don't do it online like the ACT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I can't get that either. And, God forbid they don't allow you to use the homeschool code. Then you have to wait for a school guidance counselor to figure out who the kid is and maybe get around to contacting him. (Happened to a friend of mine.) I think it is to hype up the program and create more drama. Not that I am complaining as ds' semifinalist status has netted us some decent merit aid, so far. You never know on the score. We were shocked when ds got a score good enough to make semifinalist on the PSAT. Then he went and bombed the SAT a few months later. Good thing he was able to get the score up the next time he took it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I'm trying to remember from last year, but isn't there a code or something that they're supposed to have taken from the test booklet in order to access their scores online? I remember we didn't have this and had to wait to get them by mail. Some had luck with calling and getting scores via the phone, but others of us were out of luck. Dd looked for a code this year, but didn't find anything, so I'm assuming we'll be in the same position as last year. :tongue_smilie: Sorry to hear your cutoff has been raised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancy in nj Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Have they already published the new state cutoffs for the Oct. 2011 PSAT? If you are referring to the huge jump in the state cutoffs between Oct. 2009 and 2010, the cutoff for 2011 might actually be lower. I read a discussion about this on College Confidential, and apparently the Oct 2010 PSAT was unusually easy which threw off the curve resulting in them raising the cutoffs. The pre-2011 PSAT speculation was that they would error on the side of making the test extra difficult to avoid a repeat of their 2010 curve problem. I'm sure there are post-test updates on CC as to the relative difficulty of the test, but I haven't bothered to look at it since the results are completely out of our control at this point! Nancy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 I can't get that either. And, God forbid they don't allow you to use the homeschool code. Then you have to wait for a school guidance counselor to figure out who the kid is and maybe get around to contacting him. (Happened to a friend of mine.) Bummer. The school we used allowed use of the homeschool code. So we get our scores directly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 I just realized that TX score for the PSAT cutoff went up 4 points this past year to 219. There is no way. I was thinking 215 would be hard... Maybe I'll be surprised. I have a couple of weeks until I get his score anyway. Last year I didn't get his scores until Dec 14th. Just curious. Still don't understand why they don't do it online like the ACT. You can access the tests online BUT you have to have the access code which is on the mailed copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 If you are referring to the huge jump in the state cutoffs between Oct. 2009 and 2010, the cutoff for 2011 might actually be lower. I read a discussion about this on College Confidential, and apparently the Oct 2010 PSAT was unusually easy which threw off the curve resulting in them raising the cutoffs. The pre-2011 PSAT speculation was that they would error on the side of making the test extra difficult to avoid a repeat of their 2010 curve problem. I'm sure there are post-test updates on CC as to the relative difficulty of the test, but I haven't bothered to look at it since the results are completely out of our control at this point! Nancy This is true regarding last year's test and scores. This year's was considerably more difficult and should provide more normal results. It's ok that it's more difficult - the competition (other students) didn't change and they'll still have the same number of semi-finalists and commended students even if the scores are lower (more normal). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 (edited) Here's the 2011 score cut-offs by state (which is actually the scores needed for last year's PSAT) Qualifying Scores for the Class of 2011 National Merit Semifinalists: Alabama 210 Alaska 214 Arizona 209 Arkansas 203 *Correction from what was previously listed* California 219 Colorado 212 *Correction from what was previously listed* Connecticut 219 Delaware 215 District of Columbia 223 Florida 210 Georgia 215 Hawaii 215 Idaho 208 Illinois 214 Indiana 212 Iowa 209 Kansas 211 Kentucky 208 Louisiana 210 Maine 213 Maryland 220 Massachusetts 223 Michigan 209 Minnesota 213 *Correction from what was previously listed* Mississippi 205 Missouri 210 Montana 208 Nebraska 210 Nevada 208 New Hampshire 214 New Jersey 221 New Mexico 206 New York 217 *Correction from what was previously listed* North Carolina 214 North Dakota 202 Ohio 212 Oklahoma 206 Oregon 215 Pennsylvania 216 Rhode Island 211 South Carolina 208 South Dakota 205 Tennessee 212 Texas 215 Utah 203 Vermont 212 Virginia 218 Washington 218 West Virginia 202 Wisconsin 209 Wyoming 202 Commended 201 International 223 New England Boarding Schools 223 ETA: Don't know when the scores needed for this year's test will be available. Edited December 2, 2011 by Teachin'Mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 In 30 states my guy would have made NMSF even with his clock/watch 'missed doing 3 math questions' technical problems (sigh). Oh well. Good luck to all those awaiting this year's scores! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Just to clarify something for myself... the NMSQT only applies to the kids who are in 11th grade, right? My 10th graders, no matter how wonderful they do on the PSAT, wouldn't qualify, right? Right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Here's the 2011 score cut-offs by state: Qualifying Scores for the Class of 2011 National Merit Semifinalists: Do you get the feeling that the high-scoring states are heavily weighted toward non-public schools? I'm just curious. I know in MN, we have a couple private schools with tuition over $15,000 per year, but surely not as many as the East Coast, and I don't know of any boarding schools in MN at all. Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttichen Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Right -- only 11th graders can qualify for National Merit. Also, the cut-offs listed above are for last year's test. This year's cut-offs won't be announced until next fall. I'm hoping my guy did well enough that I don't need to wonder! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in MA Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Do you get the feeling that the high-scoring states are heavily weighted toward non-public schools? I'm just curious. I know in MN, we have a couple private schools with tuition over $15,000 per year, but surely not as many as the East Coast, and I don't know of any boarding schools in MN at all. Julie Yes, I believe that you are correct. The high cut-off states tend to have lots of boarding/private high schools and also high-income/high-tech areas where there are a high concentration of very educated and very competitive parents. For us regular folk, it stinks to live in a high cut-off state for the PSAT since it seems that to qualify, a student would need close to a perfect PSAT because missing even 1 question on certain sections can lower your score by 4 points. Several years ago, my older son got 3 writing questions wrong and got a 68 for that section. Good luck to all who are awaiting scores! Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Just to clarify something for myself... the NMSQT only applies to the kids who are in 11th grade, right? My 10th graders, no matter how wonderful they do on the PSAT, wouldn't qualify, right? That is correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 (edited) Duplicate post Edited December 2, 2011 by HiddenJewel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Here's the 2011 score cut-offs by state: Qualifying Scores for the Class of 2011 National Merit Semifinalists: Would this have been for the 2010-2011 junior class? Right -- only 11th graders can qualify for National Merit. Also' date=' the cut-offs listed above are for last year's test. This year's cut-offs won't be announced until next fall. I'm hoping my guy did well enough that I don't need to wonder![/quote'] Not sure how the lists work but when you get the PSAT results it will indicate if your child has met the minimum so the state limits must already be set long before next fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 (edited) (Forgot they take the raw data and convert it to the 20-80 schedule.) Edited December 2, 2011 by HiddenJewel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in MA Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I've never heard of 4 points being taken off for one PSAT question no matter the section. Did he answer all the questions and got 3 wrong? He would miss points for questions not answered as well. This is what I have always been told (in 2009 and 2010): Yes, he answered all the questions, and got three wrong. From what I've read, the curve can be very steep at times. I read one other report recently that suggested missing one math question led to a 76 on last year's test. Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 (edited) Yes, he answered all the questions, and got three wrong. From what I've read, the curve can be very steep at times. I read one other report recently that suggested missing one math question led to a 76 on last year's test. Brenda Page 4 of this doc explains how they converted the raw data to the 20-80 score in 2010. http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/understanding-psat-nmsqt-scores.pdf Edited December 2, 2011 by HiddenJewel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Right -- only 11th graders can qualify for National Merit. Also, the cut-offs listed above are for last year's test. This year's cut-offs won't be announced until next fall. I'm hoping my guy did well enough that I don't need to wonder! I'm sorry - you're right. I saw the 2011 date and assumed, yeah we know what that means, lol that these applied to this test date, but they go by the graduating class date. Thanks for pointing that out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Do you get the feeling that the high-scoring states are heavily weighted toward non-public schools? I'm just curious. I know in MN, we have a couple private schools with tuition over $15,000 per year, but surely not as many as the East Coast, and I don't know of any boarding schools in MN at all. Julie Without a doubt! Unfortunately it makes it harder for all the students from those states to qualify whether they've had the "benefit" of a very pricey education and private SAT tutoring, or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Would this have been for the 2010-2011 junior class? Not sure how the lists work but when you get the PSAT results it will indicate if your child has met the minimum so the state limits must already be set long before next fall. Yes you're right. I thought it was the scores needed this year, but it's the scores needed for last year's test. I edited the post listing the scores. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 (edited) Not sure how the lists work but when you get the PSAT results it will indicate if your child has met the minimum so the state limits must already be set long before next fall. I'm sure they know the limits when they set the curve, however, there is no way to tell from the PSAT results that you get in the mail or online short of being well above the qualifying score. There will be an * next to your name if you don't qualify and nothing if you're a junior and you qualify for the competition (some don't due to nationality, etc), but that's it. It doesn't mean you made it. Edited December 2, 2011 by creekland Mixed up the asterisk and qualifying, so fixed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 From what I've read, the curve can be very steep at times. I read one other report recently that suggested missing one math question led to a 76 on last year's test. Brenda Yes, missing one question on last year's math section resulted in a score of 76. The curve must be a little better on this year's math section - one wrong is a 77. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted December 2, 2011 Author Share Posted December 2, 2011 I think these are wrong. These are the scores that I thought, but on the college confidential site, they said that the cut-off for texas was 219. Several people on there had 216 and didn't make it this year. That is what I was talking about. It went up a ton last year. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/1199607-national-merit-semifinalist-qualify-scores-class-2012-a.html Here's the 2011 score cut-offs by state (which is actually the scores needed for last year's PSAT) Qualifying Scores for the Class of 2011 National Merit Semifinalists: Alabama 210 Alaska 214 Arizona 209 Arkansas 203 *Correction from what was previously listed* California 219 Colorado 212 *Correction from what was previously listed* Connecticut 219 Delaware 215 District of Columbia 223 Florida 210 Georgia 215 Hawaii 215 Idaho 208 Illinois 214 Indiana 212 Iowa 209 Kansas 211 Kentucky 208 Louisiana 210 Maine 213 Maryland 220 Massachusetts 223 Michigan 209 Minnesota 213 *Correction from what was previously listed* Mississippi 205 Missouri 210 Montana 208 Nebraska 210 Nevada 208 New Hampshire 214 New Jersey 221 New Mexico 206 New York 217 *Correction from what was previously listed* North Carolina 214 North Dakota 202 Ohio 212 Oklahoma 206 Oregon 215 Pennsylvania 216 Rhode Island 211 South Carolina 208 South Dakota 205 Tennessee 212 Texas 215 Utah 203 Vermont 212 Virginia 218 Washington 218 West Virginia 202 Wisconsin 209 Wyoming 202 Commended 201 International 223 New England Boarding Schools 223 ETA: Don't know when the scores needed for this year's test will be available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I think these are wrong. These are the scores that I thought, but on the college confidential site, they said that the cut-off for texas was 219. Several people on there had 216 and didn't make it this year. That is what I was talking about. It went up a ton last year.http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/1199607-national-merit-semifinalist-qualify-scores-class-2012-a.html Yes - they're the scores needed for last year. I guess my editing wasn't clear. :tongue_smilie: Any idea when we get the list for this year's scores? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I think these are wrong. These are the scores that I thought, but on the college confidential site, they said that the cut-off for texas was 219. Several people on there had 216 and didn't make it this year. That is what I was talking about. It went up a ton last year.http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/1199607-national-merit-semifinalist-qualify-scores-class-2012-a.html You are correct - in order to get last year's info, you need to google "national merit 2012 cutoff scores." These scores correspond to the 2010 PSAT test date. The Texas cutoff for the graduating class of 2012 was 219. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Yes - they're the scores needed for last year. I guess my editing wasn't clear. :tongue_smilie: Any idea when we get the list for this year's scores? I believe that they will publish the cut-off dates for this year's PSAT in September 2012. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I believe that they will publish the cut-off dates for this year's PSAT in September 2012. Oh wow - I thought we get some indication way before that - though probably not official. I think most of these lists are compiled by students self-reporting. Oh good grief - I'm off by two years on my list of state scores??? :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Oh wow - I thought we get some indication way before that - though probably not official. I think most of these lists are compiled by students self-reporting. Oh good grief - I'm off by two years on my list of state scores??? :tongue_smilie: No, I think you were off by just one year. For example, this year's test results (2011 PSAT) will be listed under 2013 National Merit because that is the year this year's juniors will graduate. (I am not sure I am explaining this clearly enough:confused:) Even though the official results are not published until next September, is it possible to determine status based on state percentile rankings? For example, my son's test results list how he performed compared to other sophomore's based on both a national level and state level. I wonder if it is possible to average the three percentiles to determine status?:confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 No, I think you were off by just one year. For example, this year's test results (2011 PSAT) will be listed under 2013 National Merit because that is the year this year's juniors will graduate. (I am not sure I am explaining this clearly enough:confused:) Even though the official results are not published until next September, is it possible to determine status based on state percentile rankings? For example, my son's test results list how he performed compared to other sophomore's based on both a national level and state level. I wonder if it is possible to average the three percentiles to determine status?:confused: You're perfectly clear - especially now that I've had my coffee! :lol: I think that averaging them will give you some idea, but it really depends on how everyone else in your state did this year. Supposedly they look for a certain number of people from each state to qualify, and whatever number gets them closest to that number is what they go with for that state. Or at least that's what I got from the NMS site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 There will be an * next to your name if you're a junior and you qualify for the competition, but that's it. It doesn't mean you made it. Just to clarify, an asterisk means you do NOT qualify. http://www.nationalmerit.org/psat-nmsqt_score_report.png Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Just to clarify, an asterisk means you do NOT qualify. http://www.nationalmerit.org/psat-nmsqt_score_report.png Oops - old brain on my part. Thanks for catching the mistake! I'll go back and edit mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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