(Monthly Tip) Understanding Your PSAT/NMSQT Score

Monthly Tip

October 2022

Understanding Your PSAT/NMSQT Score

This month, thousands of students across the country registered to take the PSAT/NMSQT. This exam provides students and their parents with insight into their strengths and weaknesses so that they can prepare for the SAT or ACT by targeting specific areas that need improvement. However, understanding PSAT scores can be challenging; there are so many numbers and types of scores provided that it can be overwhelming to determine what exactly a student should focus on when they begin studying for the SAT or ACT. If you are unsure as to how to read your child’s PSAT test scores, Thinking Organized is here to help!

Total Score and Section Scores

The largest number on the score report is your child’s overall PSAT/NMSQT score, reached by combining the score on the Reading and Writing section and the Math section. PSAT scores fall in the range of 320-1520, rather than the 400-1600 scale that appears on the SAT. Below this number on the score report, you will find the score range, which approximates the possible scores your child might have achieved on various testing dates. By clicking the arrow next to the total score, you can view your child’s score percentile. Percentile scores indicate where your child falls relative to other students who have taken the exam. For example, a score in the 90^th percentile indicates a score better than 90% of test-takers, while a score in the 10^th percentile indicates a score better than 10% of test-takers. There are two main sections on the PSAT: the Math section and the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section (which is composed of two tests: the Reading test and the Writing and Language test). Each section is converted from a raw score to a scaled score, which ranges from 160-760. In addition to a scaled score, you will find a percentile score as well as an infographic charting your child’s score relative to their benchmark for college preparedness.

Score Details

While the Total Score and Section Scores give a good overall impression of your child’s current level of college preparedness as judged by the College Board relative to their peers, the score details provide more specific information that will better help your child prepare for the SAT or ACT. The score details provide a score for each of the major sections of the exam, scored in a range from 8 to 38, and provide two cross-test scores, Analysis in Science and Analysis in History/Social Studies, scored in the same range. There are seven of these cross-test scores that are then subdivided into subscores in a range from 1 to 15. The subscores allow you to assess your child’s strengths and weaknesses more specifically, as they provide information on how well your child can problem solve, understand grammatical conventions, determine unfamiliar words from context clues, solve algebraical problems, and more.

Targeting Areas of Weakness

The details revealed in the subscores signal the fundamental skills that your child should focus on while preparing for future standardized tests. As your child creates a studying schedule, they can prioritize these areas so that they devote more time and attention to them.

Command of Evidence. Let us say that your child scored low on the command of evidence subscore, which tests how well they can identify pieces of information that support an argument and their ability to interpret information on graphs. While preparing for the SAT, your child can practice paraphrasing information that they read and noting the main idea, supporting details, and strength of an argument.
Passport to Advanced Math. If your child received a low subscore for passport to advanced math, this might indicate that they need to strengthen their understanding of fundamental math concepts so that they can better solve more complex ones. Using sites such as Khan Academy and completing a certain number of problems each day can help your child to increase their confidence with current math topics and preview upcoming ones.
Standard English Conventions. Many students struggle to explain and recognize basic grammatical concepts, including punctuation usage, subject-verb agreement, and sentence structure. If your child struggles to use commas, semicolons, and colons correctly, then they can utilize practice worksheets to help them master this skill.

Thinking Organized's PSAT and SAT/ACT Program

Preparing for standardized tests is difficult, especially if your child struggles with executive functioning skills. Processing PSAT scores, creating a study plan, and following through on said plan is just as challenging. To help students use their PSAT scores to their advantage, Thinking Organized created our SAT/ACT program to help students target areas of weakness (based on both their PSAT score and an assessment).

A Tailored Program. Every child learns differently and has unique strengths, so our mentors will tailor a custom prep program for your child. For example, if your child struggles to define unknown vocabulary words, their mentor will teach them how to effectively utilize context clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. By learning the different types of context clues, how to recognize them in a given sentence, and how to connect this to the main idea of a passage, your child can improve in their ability to correctly define new vocabulary terms.
Applicable Strategies. Preparing for the SAT or ACT does not mean attempting to memorize dozens upon dozens of words, facts, and math topics. Instead, it involves learning efficient strategies to read a question, understand what it is asking for, and answer it. In addition to reinforcing content with their mentor, your child will also learn how to implement effective strategies, such as picking numbers for the math section or recognizing and avoiding extreme answer choices.
Accountability. In addition to working 1-1 with your child in meetings, your mentor will also ensure that your child follows through on prep work assigned to them. Your mentor will utilize several tools to help keep your child accountable, such as checking a shared Google Doc for progress, texting them reminders, and informing the child’s Educational Mentor or Speech-Language Pathologist of weekly goals.

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Celebrating Spooky Season?

By Kristin Backert-Evans

It’s October, which can only mean one thing: it’s FINALLY spooky season! Yes, that’s right, dear reader; I am indeed one of those cringe millennials who celebrates the spooky atmosphere as much as possible. This year, I’m aiming to inject a new type of spookiness into my world. About a year ago, I shared how I was learning to crochet. I’ve learned (and failed) a lot since then, and one of my goals for spooky season is to make some Halloween-themed crochet critters!

While it sounds easy – “oh, just make a ghost! Or a witch!” – it’s a little bit more complicated for one such as I. I’m one of those people who need a pattern to follow. Some people, like my sister-in-law, can look at an object, visualize how they would create a crochet version of it, and then just freehand it like BAM! At this point in my crafting life, I’m nowhere near that skillful and need to follow a pattern that someone else has written out. So first, I researched different patterns of critters that I might be interested in making, like Oogie Boogie from A Nightmare Before Christmas, a Frankenstein’s monster jellyfish, etc. Then, I compared patterns. Patterns can be written in all sorts of ways, so it was important that I find ones that I understood. Once I had that sorted out, it was time to begin crocheting!

Or was it? As I pondered which piece to make first, I started thinking about creating pieces with a spooky twist. For example, I’ve loved the Pokémon franchise since I was a kid, and my nephew recently became obsessed with the show (I am a good influence, as you can tell). So to celebrate spooky season, I figured that I could make a Bulbasaur…but with a pumpkin on its back instead of its usual bulb!