When should ds expect his PSAT score?

[Hot Lava Mama]

Has anyone received their scores yet?

Hot Lava Mama

[Barb_]

Not here. We're in AZ if that matters.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I was told mid December.  

[Barb_]

Last year scores were already beginning to arrive by now. Things seem later this year.

[tjarnold]

Can anyone tell me whether, as homeschoolers, we will receive our children's scores as "guidance counselors" or just as students?  My understanding is that reports go out to schools earlier than they go to individual students (meaning early December rather than January)?

 

Not sure the wording above makes much sense, but it's early ...

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Can anyone tell me whether, as homeschoolers, we will receive our children's scores as "guidance counselors" or just as students? My understanding is that reports go out to schools earlier than they go to individual students (meaning early December rather than January)?

 

Not sure the wording above makes much sense, but it's early ...

Last year my son got his scores via a big envelope in the mail. The report included a list of his answers for each question along with an annotation for the correct answer on any he'd missed. We later got the test booklet from the school.

I didn't get anything I'd call a school report. But we didn't have to wait for the guidance office to sort and distribute the scores.

[snowbeltmom]

Can anyone tell me whether, as homeschoolers, we will receive our children's scores as "guidance counselors" or just as students?  My understanding is that reports go out to schools earlier than they go to individual students (meaning early December rather than January)?

 

 

Homeschoolers' scores are sent to their homes, not to the school where they took the test.  We should be getting scores any day now.

 

Some traditionally schooled kids don't receive their scores until late December or January because their reports are sent to their schools, and the schools determine when the results will be released.

[tjarnold]

Thank you so much, Sebastian and snowbeltmom!

[Shelly in VA]

Neither my son nor a homeschooled friend who also took the PSAT in October have gotten their scores yet. The kids at our ps are still waiting, too. I'm anxious! :)

[Barb_]

Dd just checked the mail.  No scores here today.  Yes, I'm a little anxious too.  I don't think we're expecting semi-finalist, but since DH is from South America, National Hispanic seems like a possibility. The cutoff is closer to commended.

[mjbucks1]

I looked on my ds's PSAT envelope from last year and it was mailed on Dec 4th. 

[StephanieZ]

I heard on College Confidential that scores were mailed Tuesday, and at least a couple students got scores from their schools today and yesterday. One confirmed one was in NJ, another was in PA. I am stalking our mailman!

[Swimtaxi234]

 

 

 I am stalking our mailman!

 

My too and I got caught yesterday.   :laugh:   

 

I heard the mail truck, but I thought it had already passed my house when I walked outside.  Ooops!  The truck was just pulling to my mailbox.  He smiled at me and asked, "Are you looking for something special?  I noticed you heading out here for the past few days."

 

I laughed and told him what I was looking for and asked if he had delivered any others, but he said he hadn't seen any yet this year ... AND ... that there was another mom in our neighborhood doing the same thing.   :laugh:

[G5052]

I heard on College Confidential that scores were mailed Tuesday, and at least a couple students got scores from their schools today and yesterday. One confirmed one was in NJ, another was in PA. I am stalking our mailman!

 

Yes, I'm waiting too because a friend in my state got theirs yesterday.  We have a large medical bill that may or may not be covered by insurance that I'm waiting on as well, so I'm listening for him every day...

 

Both could have significant financial repercussions, so I guess I'm justified.

[creekland]

FWIW, our school is giving them out to students on Monday Dec 16th.  I have no idea if they are already here or if they are just expecting them by then.  This is the first year in a long time I don't have anyone waiting on a score...

 

I am, however, hoping for great results from all Hive kids!

[StephanieZ]

Ours were in our mailbox today! My Junior got a 217 and so is a shoo-in for NM here in WV (with one of the lowest cut offs, last year it was 203).

 

This is huge, huge, huge for her to have college options, as we aren't eligible for any need based aid, although there is no way we could actually afford the 60k/yr the calculators say we can. So, this will make so many good options open up for our girl. I am ecstatic!

 

Happy dancing here, and I hope you are all doing happy dances, too, when you get your mail today!

[Luckymama]

Congratulations!

 

(I think our state cutoff was higher than 217 last year.)

[StephanieZ]

Thank you! It's been a long time since I've been this excited and relieved. As I told the kids a few hours ago (before the mail came, cruel, I know) . . . Getting NM is like winning a house. In fact, like winning a very nice house! Tax free! :)

 

FWIW, here is a link to historical cutoff from the last decade or so for every state.

 

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/1580340-class-2015-nmsf-qualifying-scores.html

[mjbucks1]

Congratulations to your daughter, and to you!!!! 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Thank you! It's been a long time since I've been this excited and relieved. As I told the kids a few hours ago (before the mail came, cruel, I know) . . . Getting NM is like winning a house. In fact, like winning a very nice house! Tax free! :)

 

FWIW, here is a link to historical cutoff from the last decade or so for every state.

 

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/1580340-class-2015-nmsf-qualifying-scores.html

I don't want to put too much pressure on my kids because it is only one test on one day and cutoff a vary by state and year. But I do like the house comment, even if it would only be a down payment in our area.

 

Congrats to your kid.

[Jen in NY]

*drums fingers on the table*

 

Nothing in the mail here today.

 

But congrats to those who have heard good news already!! Woot!!

[Mom2boys]

A friend who tested with my son got her scores in the mail today, so now I am eagerly awaiting our mail delivery. I'm just hoping ds qualifies for one of the scholarships offered by dh's company. BTW, we are in Ohio.

[G5052]

Nothing today.  I'm in a high-score state  :laugh: , so we'll see.

[Mom2boys]

A friend who tested with my son got her scores in the mail today, so now I am eagerly awaiting our mail delivery. I'm just hoping ds qualifies for one of the scholarships offered by dh's company. BTW, we are in Ohio.

 

Ds's scores just arrived!  :hurray:

[AFwife Claire]

*drums fingers on the table*

 

Nothing in the mail here today.

 

But congrats to those who have heard good news already!! Woot!!

That is me too!  Nothing here either.  Two of my boys took it this year, but of course the second one is just a freshman, so it doesn't matter.  I can't believe they didn't come today!  I was looking forward to being relaxed this weekend!  : )

[kewb]

My sons scores arrived today and I am in NJ. 

[BakersDozen]

Drawn like a moth to a flame back to this thread, lol!  No results today which is OK.  I expect nothing more than average (average meaning 150-170 range, nothing above) yet would like the wait to be over.  :)  

[swimmermom3]

With a sophomore, what scores should I be happy with? :blushing:

[Jen in NY]

 

Swimmermom -- I think the PSAT is a win-win situation no matter what -- especially as a soph. If your kid does just OK, no harm, no foul - and he gets the 'testing experience' if that's going to be important to him in the future. He gets info about how he can improve.

 

As for a junior ... win-win as well... with the added bonus of a big win if he does really well. Since the PSAT scores don't get sent to the colleges, it can still be a great practice and info gathering tool, even without stellar scores.

 

It's only really 'high stakes' when he gets into the SATs... and then only if he wants it to be, depending on the path he'd like to tread.

 

But you can see the stats here:

http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/understanding-psat-nmsqt-scores.pdf

 

HTH and good luck!

(Trying to tamp down expectations around my house for one more day..... maybe it's best the scores didn't come, because the MathSATII is tomorrow at 8am! I'd rather have her thinking all about that instead of how 'poorly' she did on the PSAT, if that's what comes to pass. And if the PSAT results are good, she can see them in the afternoon and we'll all be happy then, after the other one's over.)

[TrixieB]

I'm wondering if the Saturday test scores get mailed after the Wednesday test scores?  Or do they all go out at once?

 

In any case, today's mail was all ads. :glare:
 

[StephanieZ]

With a sophomore, what scores should I be happy with? :blushing:

Lol, I guess that depends on what you are hoping for. :) My ninth grader took it this year as his first ever serious standardized test, and I really just wanted him to 'get over the hump' of not knowing every answer. (As his only other experience with standardized tests is the annual testing for our state, and he generally actually gets ever single answer right on most of that stuff, so he was not used to being tested to the limit of his knowledge as well as with severe time restraints) I hope he has potential for NM when it is his time, but for this year, I just wanted him to get comfortable with the testing environment and format, as well as get motivated to study hard for two years from now. He got a 192 and I am thrilled. I hope for 210+ (NM in our state) when it is his turn two years from now. This was great for now.

 

I guess that maybe 10-20 points below what you are hoping for JR year is a reasonable goal for a year earlier. One could surely bring it up much more than that if needed and if little prep was done prior to the 10th grade test, but bringing it up 10-20 points should be a fairly modest goal achievable with modest test prep in the next year.

 

So, anyway, how did he do?!

[Barb_]

I'm wondering if the Saturday test scores get mailed after the Wednesday test scores? Or do they all go out at once?

 

In any case, today's mail was all ads. :glare:

 

I don't think so. They're all thrown into the same pot. I don't know what takes them so long to score and mail them? They manage to churn out the SAT scores in about 3 weeks, even with a hand scored writing portion? Why does the PSAT take almost two months? I don't get it. Anyway, last year dd took hers on Saturday and she got her scores back on Saturday the week they started shipping, but we're on the west coast. This year she took it Wednesday and here it is Friday and nothing yet.

[Muttichen]

We got ours yesterday!  We're happy here!   :hurray:  Ds is a junior and dd is a sophomore.  They both got well above the cutoff even though we live in one of the toughest states.  Dd just needs to do it again next year!   

 

Now they are pumped for the SAT this morning.  

[MomsintheGarden]

We are in Virginia, and ds, a sophomore, got his yesterday.

[Jennifer in MI]

Ds got his yesterday.  He is a sophomore and scored in the 95% for college bound juniors.  He was absolutely devastated!  He was hoping to get higher.  Poor kid.  But, it motivated him to study - even yesterday.  

 

I was thrilled with his scores.  

[Muttichen]

Ds got his yesterday.  He is a sophomore and scored in the 95% for college bound juniors.  He was absolutely devastated!  He was hoping to get higher.  Poor kid.  But, it motivated him to study - even yesterday.  

 

I was thrilled with his scores.  

 

My ds felt the same way last year as a sophomore (especially because his younger sister scored higher than he did ...) and he came up over ten points to do really well when it counted.  He was also really excited that most of the questions he missed were vocabulary, and we've been working HARD on that this month. A perfect SAT score is actually in reach for him.  I never would have believed that a year ago!

[snowbeltmom]

 I don't know what takes them so long to score and mail them? They manage to churn out the SAT scores in about 3 weeks, even with a hand scored writing portion? Why does the PSAT take almost two months? I don't get it.

:iagree:

 

I think they do it this way just to get more publicity for the program.  Look how many threads on College Confidential are devoted to discussing when the students will receive their scores.  Then instead of simply announcing the score cut-offs in September, individual letters are sent out to the schools.  This results in those long threads on College Confidential where the kids/parents speculate on the state cut-offs based off of those students who have already been notified while the other students are still waiting.

[Elisabet1]

I wish they would go with the same score nation wide. Or at least much closer. We moved from a state with a low cut off (below 210) to a state with a high cut off (219 this past year) and our child scored a 216. We really needed that money. Then we hear from old friends whose children got 205 and such who are NMSF this year. And my DD has an old BF who is quite wealthy and attends a very expensive private school, whose parents have plenty of money for college, he travels a lot and such, and his score was lower than hers and he is NMSF now. All because of the state location game.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I wish they would go with the same score nation wide. Or at least much closer. We moved from a state with a low cut off (below 210) to a state with a high cut off (219 this past year) and our child scored a 216. We really needed that money. Then we hear from old friends whose children got 205 and such who are NMSF this year. And my DD has an old BF who is quite wealthy and attends a very expensive private school, whose parents have plenty of money for college, he travels a lot and such, and his score was lower than hers and he is NMSF now. All because of the state location game.

It is set as a percentage of the state student population in each class as a way to preserve geographic diversity. On one hand I understand that you might end up with a disportionate number of students from states with stronger districts. But it is still frustrating.

 

One thing I find interesting is the high score for DC, which I think is a factor of the number of elite private schools in the district.

[Barb_]

I wish they would go with the same score nation wide. Or at least much closer. We moved from a state with a low cut off (below 210) to a state with a high cut off (219 this past year) and our child scored a 216. We really needed that money. Then we hear from old friends whose children got 205 and such who are NMSF this year. And my DD has an old BF who is quite wealthy and attends a very expensive private school, whose parents have plenty of money for college, he travels a lot and such, and his score was lower than hers and he is NMSF now. All because of the state location game.

I'm so sorry :(

[creekland]

I wish they would go with the same score nation wide. Or at least much closer. We moved from a state with a low cut off (below 210) to a state with a high cut off (219 this past year) and our child scored a 216. We really needed that money. Then we hear from old friends whose children got 205 and such who are NMSF this year. And my DD has an old BF who is quite wealthy and attends a very expensive private school, whose parents have plenty of money for college, he travels a lot and such, and his score was lower than hers and he is NMSF now. All because of the state location game.

 

This hit us too.  My guy's native state would have had him being a NMSF, but the state we moved to had him miss the cut.

 

The good news?  He got a really nice scholarship anyway.  Not all the best scholarships go to NMSF kids.  Granted, there are some nice guaranteed ones out there for winners, but it's not the only way.

 

Best wishes to your DD!  She did well.

[Elise]

One dd received scores today here in Virginia(my 9th/10th grader), but my 11th grader did not. Odd! Maybe Monday. Dd2 is 98th% for sophomores, but her math score is lower than she had hoped. Now to wait for dd1!

[TrixieB]

Dd's scores came today.  This year, as a sophomore, she scored just below the historical cutoffs for our state.

 

If she works hard on her math, she could bump up her score next year.  I think she'll be motivated to do this -- she's my diligent child.

[Excelsior! Academy]

Didn't get ours yet.  Where do you find the cutoff information?  We are in OK.

[regentrude]

DS got his today. But since he is only a freshman, I was not on pins and needles... it is just a baseline.

[HappyMomMd]

Didn't get ours yet.  Where do you find the cutoff information?  We are in OK.

 

I found the cutoff information here http://www.fairtest.org/fairtest-press-release-national-merit-scholarship-2013

 

[Barb_]

I found the cutoff information here http://www.fairtest.org/fairtest-press-release-national-merit-scholarship-2013

 

 

OH wow!  Every state cutoff for the class of 2014 went up on average 2-4 points. Alaska went up 7 points in one year.  That's crazy! They've been relatively stable for years.  What's up with that?

[jibaker103]

Can someone please explain what the cutoff score is and means? 

[Barb_]

Can someone please explain what the cutoff score is and means? 

 

The PSAT is scored with a three digit index, with 240 being the highest score.  The National Merit Corporation offers semi-finalist status to the top 1% of scorers in each state.  So in Alabama, anyone who scores greater than or equal to a 211 is a semifinalist, but in VA, a score of 222 is needed and in Wyoming just a 203.  Each year the cutoff resets with a new batch of scores.

[StephanieZ]

I don't know that the state variances are any more unfair than the fact that kids in some states have access to such amazing educational resources for both k-12 and college whereas other states have such poor educational resources. If we lived in noVA like we used to, we'd have several fantastic public colleges (two are essentially public Ivies -- UVA and W&M) as well as an unbelievably amazing science magnet school for high school . . . Not to mention across-the-board high quality public educational resources k-12. Now, we live in WV, where the best-in-the-state public high schools are comparable to middling-to-poor public high schools in VA, our best state flagship uni is no better than mediocre academically, and we have no truly awesome schools at all. And, our public school teachers earn about half what they do in noVA, meaning that we can't attract or keep those teachers. And, where we lived in noVA had something like 80-90% of the adult population college educated and maybe 50-60% graduated degreed, whereas WV has way, way, way lower educational levels in our parents. Kids here do not benefit, as a rule, from having tiger moms or highly educated and motivated parents. It is truly much harder here, on average, to achieve high test scores or other markers of high achievement.  

 

Growing up in noVA, we used to moan that we were at a disadvantage when applying to the top VA universities, as kids from southern VA has such an advantage. It was (and surely is) true that much lower stat kids from outside noVA will get many spots that are denied to higher stat noVA kids. It rankles, but it is what it is, and I think there is a greater good at work because of the larger (and probably more vital) inequity of kids in different regions having access to very unequal educational resources. Unless one believes that kids in noVA are inherently substantially smarter than kids in more rural/poorer areas of the state, then it would seem unreasonable to me to not *try* to ameliorate some of that inequity by targeting resources towards all areas of the state, which is what the unis do when they give weight to "geographic diversity".

 

There is no way to control for every variable on something as arbitrary as the NM contest. College apps do a better job by considering educational backgrounds of parents, income, 1st generation status, hardships, etc, in addition to geographic location. However, for the NM contest, I rather believe that the state-wide contests do a decent job of approximating for *some* of that inequity on a very rough scale.

 

I see it from all angles. I grew up and raised babies in NoVA (super high income and high stat), and now I am raising my kids in WV. Probably opposite ends of the educational/affluence scale. My dd who just scored well enough to qualify in WV would also have qualified if there were a national scale (as she was in the 99th percentile nationally as well as blowing it out of the water in WV).

 

So, anyway, I think the best way to look at PSAT and other broken-down-by-state scores/tests is as 50 statewide contests, not as a national contest. It is arbitrary, but so is everything else we do by state. Move across a state border, and your access to medical care, educational opportunities, legality of marriage, etc, can change drastically. It is what it is.