New PSAT Scoring Explained: Ranges & Percentiles

On January 7, 2016 the College Board released PSAT scores from the fall 2015 exam. These are the first scores for the newly changed PSAT exam from October 2015.

We’ve heard from our students (and parents) that there is much confusion surrounding the new PSAT scoring. We are here to explain.

There are three scores to focus on when you receive your PSAT report:

Total Score:
1. The sum of your Reading, Writing score and your Math score
2. Use this as a potential indicator of your future SAT score
3. Score range: 320-1520 (notice the scale is no longer out of 1600)
Reading & Writing Score (now called Reading & Writing/Language):
1. Score range: 160-760 (instead of 800)
2. Reading (1/4) & Writing/Language (1/4) TOGETHER make up half of your composite score
Math Score:
1. Score range: 160-760 (not out of 800)
2. Half of your composite score

Based on the score ranges above, you can see that there is more heft in the Math section as this is scored as a stand-alone section of the PSAT. You’ll also see this depicted below when converting your score to a percentile.

For example, if you have a score of 550, you are in the 86th percentile for Reading/Writing but only the 80th percentile for Math with a 550 math.

A silver lining to the new score report is that it also breaks down how you did by question type, which will help you determine your strengths and weaknesses as you continue to prepare for the SAT.

Keep in mind that your PSAT scores are not used for college admissions, BUT there is potential, if your scores are high enough, that you could earn scholarship dollars OR a National Merit Scholarship, so be sure you are prepared when you sit for the PSAT. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation selects semifinalists on a state-by-state basis and only the highest scoring (approximately the top 1%) entrants qualify as Semifinalists.

ESTIMATED Cut Off for the Class of 2017 National Merit Semifinalist
*Please keep in mind these are estimates only.
* If you’re a sophomore, use this as a guide to see where you fall in your state and what you need to do to get where you want to be.

State	Estimated NEW PSAT Cutoffs
Alabama	197
Alaska	194
Arizona	203
Arkansas	192
California	211
Colorado	201
Connecticut	203
Delaware	204
District of Columbia	213
Florida	202
Georgia	206
Hawaii	202
Idaho	196
Illinois	203
Indiana	201
Iowa	198
Kansas	201
Kentucky	198
Louisiana	199
Maine	199
Maryland	210
Massachusetts	211
Michigan	198
Minnesota	202
Mississippi	197
Missouri	197
Montana	192
Nebraska	197
Nevada	199
New Hampshire	201
New Jersey	213
New Mexico	196
New York	207
North Carolina	203
North Dakota	190
Ohio	203
Oklahoma	196
Oregon	203
Pennsylvania	205
Rhode Island	200
South Carolina	199
South Dakota	190
Tennessee	200
Texas	208
Utah	194
Vermont	202
Virginia	210
Washington	207
West Virginia	190
Wisconsin	195
Wyoming	190

Practice, practice, practice – this is what the PSAT is all about, as your PSAT score should be an honest indicator of your potential SAT score. Granted, this does not mean if you receive a 1500 on your PSAT you are guaranteed to score a 1500 on the SAT as they are scaled slightly differently, BUT it does show that you are in the top percentile of students testing. If you carry your studies through to the SAT, your scores should reflect your SAT preparedness based on all your practice from the PSAT.

How is the PSAT scored?

Raw Score: You are given 1 point for every correct answer you provided. (The new PSAT does not take fractions of a point away for a wrong answer. GOOD NEWS –there’s now nothing wrong with guessing. Do not leave any questions blank).
Scaled Score: As mentioned above, each section has a score range between 160 – 760; these ranges are based on difficulty of that particular exam.
- Subscores for Math, Reading/Writing: between 8-38
  - To calculate your Math score – multiply your subscore by 20
  - To calculate your Reading/Writing score – sum of Reading & Writing subscores, multiply by 10
- Total PSAT Score Scale: 320-1520 (The new SAT, debuting in March, score scale ranges from 800-1600.) This new PSAT scale corresponds with the new SAT scale but is not a perfect match, which is why

Your PSAT score will determine your PSAT Score Percentile. College Board compares your score to others taking the same test at the same time and this is referred to as your PSAT Score Percentile.

For example, if you score in the 85th percentile this means that you scored the same or higher than 85% of the students who took the same test. The remaining 15% scored higher than you. This percentile is important and it also ties to the potential to earn a National Merit Scholarship.
Note the following chart on scaled scores and the corresponding percentiles.

PSAT Scaled Scores and Likely Percentile Conversion:
(based on 2015 data; conversion varies slightly year to year)

Score	Reading and Writing	Math
760	99+	99+
750	99+	99+
740	99+	99
730	99+	99
720	99	99
710	99	98
700	99	98
690	99	98
680	98	97
670	98	97
660	98	96
650	97	96
640	97	94
630	96	93
620	95	92
610	94	90
600	93	88
590	92	88
580	90	86
570	89	83
560	87	83
550	86	80
540	83	77
530	81	77
520	79	73
510	77	70
500	74	70
490	70	66
480	68	62
470	66	58
460	61	57
450	57	54
440	55	50
430	51	46
420	48	42
410	44	38
400	43	34
390	37	31
380	34	28
370	31	24
360	28	21
350	24	18
340	20	16
330	17	13
320	17	11
310	13	9
300	12	9
290	10	7
280	8	5
270	7	5
260	6	3
250	4	2
240	4	2
230	3	2
220	2	2
210	2	1
200	2	1
190	2	1
180	1	1
170	1	1
160	1	1

You can use the above chart to break the score percentile down a bit further and see exactly what you need to aim for in order to reach a certain percentile.

For example, if you want to score in the 95th percentile you need to score a 620 in Reading/Writing and a 650 in Math for a composite score of 1270.

Annually, 3.5 million students take the PSAT so you’re not alone if you’re confused about the new scoring methods. Use the above charts as a guide to interpreting your scores –we hope they help.