LNC Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I am typing/yelling because I am beyond irritated. Her NMSQT is in Oct and they release this stupid book???? It doesn't offer any info about how to calculate score. We went to the College Board website to see if they explain how to calculate a score and there is nothing on there yet. Is anyone else trying to take official practice tests yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeanM Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Which book do you have? I've bought two PSAT books, but neither are from the College Board. I've got one Barron's and one Princeton review. The Barron's book is the only one ds has looked at so far, and it did have a way to calculate the score. I assumed the Princeton review was the same way, but I just looked and it does not have any way to calculate a score. I was wondering if we'd be better off buying books aimed at the new SAT, rather than the new PSAT, but maybe not. I will say that the score calculation is probably fairly random because there is very little data out there. And since it is impossible to know what the cut-off for National Merit will be with the new PSAT, it is hard to interpret what the scores mean anyway. I'm just assuming that ds needs to do as well as possible. By the way, does anyone have a clue as to why they would change the number of multiple choices from 5 to 4? In conjunction with eliminating the penalty for guessing, it seems like they're making guessing more rewarding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 October will still be the old SAT-the new one doesn't start until January. I don't know how that affects the PSAT, but make sure you're using the right style questions to prepare. Khan academy has both. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNC Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 It is the new, official College Board SAT book to prep for new PSAT. She may give up and just prep for ACT, 29 as a sophomore... She doesn't want to go to our alma mater that gives full rides for NMF anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 October will still be the old SAT-the new one doesn't start until January. I don't know how that affects the PSAT, but make sure you're using the right style questions to prepare. Khan academy has both. The PSAT will be the new format. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 It is the new, official College Board SAT book to prep for new PSAT. She may give up and just prep for ACT, 29 as a sophomore... She doesn't want to go to our alma mater that gives full rides for NMF anyway... Don't underestimate how much money the NMF can bring your child if they are one of the few who are likely to score at or above the cut-off. Take it very, very seriously. One of mine graduated debt-free, in part because of merit money awarded because of their NMF status. That, in turn, allowed him to save money from his first job rather than paying down debt, which allowed more career choices down the line because he could fund the transitions involved. One day's test-taking can result in $$,$$$ of scholarship money, directly and indirectly. While she's not keen on your alma mater now, things may look different by the spring of senior year, and other colleges may also award her significant merit money based in part on her NMF status. Protect her options. Do the test prep. You don't need a score for the sample test, you just need to aim for as many right answers as she can possibly get. It won't be a waste of time, as it will double as SAT prep to some extent. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 October will still be the old SAT-the new one doesn't start until January. Wait, doesn't the new SAT start in March 2016? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenC Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Wait, doesn't the new SAT start in March 2016? Yes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bristayl Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 College Board says "In the summer of 2015, we'll provide tools to help you convert your raw scores to scaled scores. We'll also show how subscores and cross-test scores can be determined. Learn more about scores. Those tools are not available now because the redesigned exam is still in development, and we are still conducting studies to confirm the precise relationships between raw scores and scaled scores." I hope they finish their studies soon, seeing as we are quite a ways into "summer 2015"! In the meantime, we're using the Khan Academy practice material. My dd is only a 9th grader this fall, though, so the stakes are not high like the OPs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNC Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 The new PSAT in Oct is for National Merit. I guess she can keep trying for less wrong answers while having no idea if she is close to top % needed for NMF. Her future major really limits where she will apply and I am starting not to care about scholarships like I did when she was younger. Her AP and dual enrollment take 2 years off her degree plan also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bristayl Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 LNC--can you tell if the practice tests in the new SAT book are different from the ones they have posted on their website? https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/practice/full-length-practice-tests Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 It is my understanding that scoring information will not be available for the new format SAT/PSAT tests until spring 2016. Essentially, the College Board needs to have a few administrations of the new tests on which to base scaled scores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 I am typing/yelling because I am beyond irritated. Her NMSQT is in Oct and they release this stupid book???? It doesn't offer any info about how to calculate score. We went to the College Board website to see if they explain how to calculate a score and there is nothing on there yet. Is anyone else trying to take official practice tests yet? But PSAT will be the new test, correct? Won't it be impossible to calculate scores, since no one has officially taken the test and been scored? The scores are based on the students currently taking the test. Since no one's taking the test, you can't accurately predict the score. This is a major problem for anyone taking the new test. There's nothing out there to accurately judge your score. The prep books won't be as precise as they are currently, and anyone taking the test early on will be at a serious disadvantage than those students who take it later, after the test prep books have caught up to the new test. (Someone please, please correct me if I am wrong. Meanwhile, I'm thankful I have a rising senior who will not be affected.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNC Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 Yes the 4 book tests are the same as the website according to Amazon reviews. And it does sound like to me that there will be no way to score October PSAT for NM. I am assuming that bc I read they are holding the March SAT scores until the May SAT scores so they have a comparison. What will they compare the October PSAT too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bristayl Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Thanks for letting me know about the book. Wow, I don't see how they could deny the entire class the chance for National Merit. The new PSAT webpage does still say that it will be an NM qualifying test https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love_to_Read Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Every administration of the PSAT and SAT contains an experimental section with new questions that does not count toward your score. Usually, they're still the same old format with new numbers, just so that future administrations can have a variety of questions and not be memorized by repeat testers, but when there's a major change coming up, they'll reflect the new format.Anyhow, they collect and analyze statistical data on these experimental questions...how many people get them right/wrong? How does that correlate with the real scores of those testers on the sections that do count? Are all of the wrong answers chosen by enough people to not be considered too easy to eliminate? From that data, they are able to eliminate questions that don't pass muster, and are able to rank questions in order of difficulty, and then put together an exam in which the total difficulty is comparable to previous exams, with roughly the same number of easy questions vs. harder questions. Minute differences in difficulty are the reason why the scale (how many questions equals how many points) can be slightly different from one exam to the next. So, if the first administration of the new format is this fall, that means that they've already introduced the questions on exams last year (if not sooner) in the experimental section that didn't count. Different testers would have had different experimental sections in order to compile enough questions to make the whole exam. Until they finish the statistical analysis above to know how statistically difficult the questions are, they cannot calculate the scaled score. I wouldn't hold my breath until September. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bristayl Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 I did a little poking around and here is a good post from someone who went to a College Board/Khan Academy information session. http://www.compassprep.com/college_board_forum_update_2_20_2015/ A couple of interesting pieces of info: Each of the two sections of the new PSAT will be scored from 160-760, compared to 200-800 for the new SAT. Khan Academy will be releasing an additional four SAT practice tests throughout the fall. Here is a blog post that attempts to guess at what new qualifying scores might be--not sure how seriously to take it. http://blog.prepscholar.com/national-merit-semifinalist And, of course, none of this is that helpful until the College Board gives us its "tools" for converting a raw score to the new scaled score. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bristayl Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Love_to_Read--I am wondering whether they will still use the past experimental questions even though they are supposed to have radically changed the types of questions. Also, it looks like the new SATs will no longer have 20-25 minute sections, so in the future I am guessing that they will have to incorporate experimental questions into all of the longer sections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 IMHO there is no reliable way to guess at new cut off scores. The old test had a 10-15 point spread across different states and a several point wobble in a given state from year to year. Nor does it matter what the guesses are because you have little way of predicting the score you'll have on the new test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 I did a little poking around and here is a good post from someone who went to a College Board/Khan Academy information session. http://www.compassprep.com/college_board_forum_update_2_20_2015/ A couple of interesting pieces of info: Each of the two sections of the new PSAT will be scored from 160-760, compared to 200-800 for the new SAT. Khan Academy will be releasing an additional four SAT practice tests throughout the fall. Here is a blog post that attempts to guess at what new qualifying scores might be--not sure how seriously to take it. http://blog.prepscholar.com/national-merit-semifinalist And, of course, none of this is that helpful until the College Board gives us its "tools" for converting a raw score to the new scaled score. The CompassPrep link has some great info. I didn't realize the new test didn't roll out until March. I thought it was supposed to come out in Jan 2016. Not releasing test scores until May is rough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serenade Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 it seems like they're making guessing more rewarding. That's probably the whole idea. You know, to equalize things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anne1456 Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 For the PSAT I have heard that College Board did administer a trial of the new PSAT in some schools around the country this spring. I think it was given specifically to students who had already taken the PSAT. The students and schools didn't get the results, it was just for College Board to use for help in figuring out scoring and scales. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LearningGrace Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 One day's test-taking can result in $$,$$$ of scholarship money, directly and indirectly....... Protect her options. Do the test prep. You don't need a score for the sample test, you just need to aim for as many right answers as she can possibly get. It won't be a waste of time, as it will double as SAT prep to some extent. Our 16 yr old ds has begun using the College Prep Genius materials produced by Jean Burk. We learned of this program at this year's GHC in Cincinnati. While we began the prep a little later than is ideal, I have no doubt the strategies he is learning will only boost his score in the fall as well as on the SAT. Burk emphasizes the fact that the SAT is a logic based test (which I did not know) not knowledge based and gives strategies for taking every section of the test. I will try to post after he takes the PSAT in the fall to report how much he raised his score based on this material vs the practice test online. http://collegeprepgenius.com/- The website also contains information regarding the new SAT. Yes, justasque, less debt certainly means more options. Even homeschooling itself was an option because I was not required to work to pay off our school debt and survive. I understand not everyone finds himself in the same situation and count myself very, very blessed. However, it is a tremendous blessing and gift we can give our children if at all possible. HTH ~ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Thanks for letting me know about the book. Wow, I don't see how they could deny the entire class the chance for National Merit. The new PSAT webpage does still say that it will be an NM qualifying test https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10 They won't be denying anyone anything, except more immediate gratification of their curiosity. The tests will be scored. It's just that the scaled scores won't be available right away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Our 16 yr old ds has begun using the College Prep Genius materials produced by Jean Burk. We learned of this program at this year's GHC in Cincinnati. While we began the prep a little later than is ideal, I have no doubt the strategies he is learning will only boost his score in the fall as well as on the SAT. Burk emphasizes the fact that the SAT is a logic based test (which I did not know) not knowledge based and gives strategies for taking every section of the test. I will try to post after he takes the PSAT in the fall to report how much he raised his score based on this material vs the practice test online. http://collegeprepgenius.com/- The website also contains information regarding the new SAT. Did they actually change their materials to better match the new test? When I asked a rep last year at a book fair, she said they did not plan to make any changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LearningGrace Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Did they actually change their materials to better match the new test? When I asked a rep last year at a book fair, she said they did not plan to make any changes. Yes, they are! :) Anyone who purchased the 2014 to the present will receive the new materials for free. http://store.collegeprepgenius.com/new-sat/- See the 'What We Recommend' section. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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