Mama Lynx Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Did your scores stay about the same from year to year? If they went up, how much did they go up? From casually looking over posts it seems like most scores stayed about the same from one year to another. I thought that was interesting - I expected to see a bigger jump between soph and junior scores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3byzaz Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooooom Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 30 points - well one was only 29. I thought this was supposed to be about normal. And only my dd's SAT scores were a fair amount higher (second time taken, 100pts) than the PSAT ones, if that interests you as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Middle son's score went up 20 points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 My oldest 2 brought their scores up by about 20 points from sophomore to junior without a lot of directed study. My 3rd is wonky and doesn't fit any kind of mold so we just see what happens (he went up 4 points total, but had large increases in CR and Writing that were offset by a drop in math) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten in MO Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 My oldest son's score went up 23 points. My middle son took the PSAT this year as a junior, but did not take it last year, so nothing to report there. Oldest made National Merit, middle son will not, based on his score. Kirsten Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 He brought it up 20 points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 They did go up a lot in our case...between 100-200 points for the two oldest. I thought that was common. Now you have me worried about #3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 They did go up a lot in our case...between 100-200 points for the two oldest. I thought that was common. Now you have me worried about #3. I think you're referring to scores for the SAT??? The PSAT has a top score of 240, so a jump of 10 to 20 points would be equivalent to 100 to 200 on the SAT. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 I think you're referring to scores for the SAT??? The PSAT has a top score of 240' date=' so a jump of 10 to 20 points would be equivalent to 100 to 200 on the SAT. :)[/quote'] LOL, yes. I did read it to mean the SAT. I couldn't imagine the average SAT scores going up only 20-30 points from year to year. PSAT's went up about 25 points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 My oldest dd's scores went up 8 points from 10th grade to 11th grade. My middle dd's scores went down 14 points from 10th grade to 11th grade. The year she was in 10th grade, the NM cutoff score jumped up 5 points. It sounds like they overcorrected to make it a lot more difficult this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendall Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 1st child - up only 10 points, but his 10th grade score was high. 2nd child - up 25 points (up 9 from 9th to 10th) Neither child did much more than take a few practice tests and do the occasional SAT ? of day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in TX Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Increased by 20-30 points (I can't remember the exact 10th grade score). There was a significant improvement, and she did no SAT or PSAT practice of any kind between the first and second tests. I think it was the year of time to mature, and simply to have read more and taken more math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in MA Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 My son's score went up 19 points on the PSAT between Soph & Jr years. Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nscribe Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 I would be curious if people generally attributed the increases to test familiarity, a year's maturity, or some specific content area focus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Lynx Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 Me, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Dd#1's score stayed the same from 10th to 11th which really surprised me as she had learned quite a bit more math in that year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 ER's score increased 10 points (took PSAT in 2005 & 2006). EK's score increased 26 points (took PSAT in 2010 & 2011). I would be curious if people generally attributed the increases to test familiarity, a year's maturity, or some specific content area focus? Both kids worked through the practice test booklets provided by the school where they took their tests, and they also did extra practice in math (the weakest PSAT section for both of them) using Peterson's In-A-Flash PSAT and In-A-Flash Math. I attribute their increases to familiarity with the test/process and also to the fact that they had covered another year's worth of content in math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profmom Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 What are the pros and cons of taking it in 10th for the first time? Did anyone go through a prep book before taking in in 10th? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Pros: - When you get scores back you can look for gaps that need filling in. - This is a real test with potential for real test anxiety (of the sort that can't be felt at home) and real issues. The score tends to be more "real" than any practice test. Nerves tend to be lessened the second time around (or later for any other test such as the SAT/ACT). Cons: - One morning scheduled. - $15 - You have to sign up with a school giving the test. This sometimes causes issues for homeschoolers (on the part of the school). Around here, there's no problem, but that's not true everywhere. I did NOT have my guys use a prep book prior to their 10th grade test. I did have them do the practice test in the booklet they give you at sign up. I also had youngest do the practice test from middle son's 11th grade year since we had it. By knowing the format and timing, they are more ready for the real test - but without much studying. We're starting to gear up now for this fall's testing (albeit will do more prep after Easter and through the summer). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Therese Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 (edited) We didn't have to pay anything when my son took the PSAT last fall. I agree with creekland that it is helpful to gain experience in 10th grade when nothing is at stake by taking the test in the actual testing environment. FWIW, two of my children's scores (ds#1 and dd#2) went down from 10th grade to 11th grade. Based on the cut-off scores for our state (IL), both of them would have qualified as National Merit semi-finalists in their sophomore years, but their junior year scores were just shy of the cut-off. They were both named commended scholars. Ds's score dropped 14 points, dd's 4 points. OTOH, DD#1's score increased by 14 points; enough to make her a National Merit Finalist. :001_smile: They all took a few practice tests from the College Board book. Since the older ones have taken the test a couple of times each, we now have a collection of past PSAT tests, so my youngest can review actual tests when it's his turn (one of the benefits of being a younger child). Edited March 13, 2012 by Therese added information about test prep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April in CA Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Howdy! Both my guys took the exam in 10th and again in 11th grades. Ds #1 increased his score by 17 points and DS #2 increased his score by 23 points; both of them have acheived National Merit Finalist status. Interestingly, they had exactly the same total score as 10th grades, although the breakdown was different for each of them. DS#2 was inspired by DS#1's achievements and started doing the SAT question of the day as a sophomore. That, along with dedication to strong academic performance (lots of reading and exposure to good vocabulary, etc), was really quite beneficial. I strongly recommend taking the PSAT as a 10th grader - the student gets a "dry run" to figure out how to take these important tests. My older son did not know that there was a page of math formulas at the beginning of the test booklet when he took the test as a soph. No bid deal that year, but it would have been disastrous if it had happened during his junior year. Blessings, April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tressa Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Dd#1's score stayed the same from 10th to 11th which really surprised me as she had learned quite a bit more math in that year. Yep. My son's score went up 2 whole points. He scored fairly well both times. I was a bit disappointed because he had another year of math. He didn't seem bothered by it at all.:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 My oldest dd's scores went up 8 points from 10th grade to 11th grade. My middle dd's scores went down 14 points from 10th grade to 11th grade. The year she was in 10th grade, the NM cutoff score jumped up 5 points. It sounds like they overcorrected to make it a lot more difficult this year. And then my middle dd took the SAT in January and with no more work made a higher score than either her 10th or 11th grade PSAT scores would have indicated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 My older son's total PSAT score went up by only 6 points from 10th grade to 11th ... I had been hoping his English scores might improve more than they did. Math went up 3 pts, Writing up 4 pts, and CR *down* by 1 pt :001_smile:. He was nowhere near Commended, even, so it didn't really matter. He recently took the ACT and did quite well, so that's a relief (the even balance on the ACT between English/reading and math/sci helps him, as opposed to the 2:1 ratio on the PSAT). My younger son (grade 10 currently) would easily have made Semifinalist this year ... so, he doesn't need to improve his score next year -- but here's hoping he just can recreate this year's score when it finally counts! :001_smile:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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