PSAT

 

Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test is a multiple-choice standardized test administered by the College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) in the United States.
An estimated 1.3 million high school juniors and sophomores take the test each year. Recently, a few freshmen, 8th, and 7th graders have also begun taking this test. The scores from the PSAT are used (with the permission of the student) to determine eligibility and qualification for the National Merit Scholarship Program.

The test is composed of three sections: Math, Critical Reading, and Writing, and takes three hours to complete. Each of the three sections is scored on a scale of 20 to 80 points, which add up to a maximum composite score of 240 points. This parallels the SAT, which is graded on a scale of 200 to 800 (the narrower range is to distinguish from which test a score comes and to denote less accuracy). However, unlike the new (2005) SAT, the new PSAT does not include higher-level mathematics (e.g., concepts from Algebra II) or an essay in its writing section (which was added to the SAT in 2005).