PSAT

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PSAT
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The PSAT can help you in two MAJOR ways

1. Getting Scholarship Money
2. Getting SAT Practice

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Benefits of taking the PSAT

• The test provides
• the best practice for the SAT Reasoning Test.
• the option to receive information from colleges
  and scholarship information
• information about college major interests
• motivation for students to think actively about
  preparing for college.

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Benefits of taking the PSAT/NMSQT

• Additionally, when you take the test, you
  receive
• personalized feedback on critical reading, math,
  and writing skills, including suggestions for
  improvement.
• information about each test question, including
  correct answers with full explanations online
  students also have their actual test book
  returned with their score reports.
• insight into how students academic skills
  compare to their college-bound peers.
• free access to MyRoad, a dynamic Web-based
  career, major, and college exploration tool

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Scholarships and Recognition

• By taking the PSAT, you may qualify to enter the
  competitions for prestigious scholarships and
  participate in recognition programs.
• National Merit Scholarship
• The National Hispanic Recognition Program
• National Scholarship Service
• The Telluride Association

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What is on the PSAT?

• What is it testing?

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What does the PSAT actually test?

• Critical reading skillsusing content from
  humanities, social studies, natural sciences, and
  literature.
• Math reasoning skillsusing content from number
  and operations algebra and functions geometry
  and measurement data analysis, statistics, and
  probability.
• Writing skillsfocus on editing, grammar, usage,
  and organization.

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Five Sections

• Critical Reading (25 minutes)
• Math (25 minutes)
• Critical Reading (25 minutes)
• Math (25 minutes)
• Writing (30 minutes)

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PSATCritical Reading Questions

• 13 Sentence Completions
• 35 Passage-Based Reading Questions (100- to
  800-word passages)

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PSATMath Questions

• 28 Multiple-Choice Questions
• 10 Student-Produced Response Questions(Grid-ins
  )

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PSATWriting Skills Questions

• 20 Improving Sentences Questions
• 14 Identifying Sentence Error Questions
• 5 Improving Paragraph Questions

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How does the PSAT compare to the SAT?

• Same question types, except the SAT includes an
  essay assignment.
• PSAT is 2 hours, 10 minutes the SAT is 3 hours,
  45 minutes.
• SAT will have a few math questions from
  third-year math courses PSAT will not.

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Sample PSAT Questions
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Critical Reading SectionSentence Completions

• Roger said the report was significant Heather
  contradicted him, saying that all the information
  presented was ------- .
• (A) contemporary
• (B) scintillating
• (C) objective
• (D) irrevocable
• (E) immaterial

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Critical Reading SectionSentence Completions

• Roger said the report was significant Heather
  contradicted him, saying that all the information
  presented was ------- .
• (A) contemporary
• (B) scintillating
• (C) objective
• (D) irrevocable
• (E) immaterial

Because Heather is contradicting Roger, the
correct response is the word that is most nearly
the opposite of "significant. Choice (E) is
correct. "Immaterial" means inconsequential or
irrelevant. Information that is immaterial is by
definition not significant.
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Critical Reading SectionPassage-Based Reading

• Excerpt from reading passage
• After I left the room, I began to sift my
  impressions. Only the day before, an acquaintance
  had warned me to watch carefully for
  sleight-of-hand tricks, especially as the man had
  earlier been a stage conjuror.

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Critical Reading SectionPassage-Based Reading

• The acquaintance mentioned in line 2 can best
  be described as a
• (A) skeptic
• (B) hypocrite
• (C) hoaxer
• (D) confidant
• (E) mystic

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Critical Reading SectionPassage-Based Reading

• The acquaintance mentioned in line 2 can best
  be described as a
• (A) skeptic
• (B) hypocrite
• (C) hoaxer
• (D) confidant
• (E) mystic

The acquaintance mentioned in line 2 warns the
author to "watch carefully for sleight-of-hand
tricks." Choice (A) is correct. In warning the
author to watch out for tricks, the acquaintance
is showing that he is skeptical about the
telepathist's supposed powers.
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Math SectionMultiple Choice

• If ax bx 36, what is the value of x when a
  b 12?
• (A) 3
• (B) 6
• (C) 12
• (D) 24
• (E) 48

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Math SectionMultiple Choice

• If ax bx 36, what is the value of x when a
  b 12?
• (A) 3
• (B) 6
• (C) 12
• (D) 24
• (E) 48

• The expression ax bx is equivalent to (a b)
  x, so the equation ax bx 36 is equivalent to
  (a b) x 36. When a b 12, the equation
  becomes 12x 36, which can be solved to get x
  3.

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Math SectionStudent-Produced Response

• If , what is the value of h?

h 1 5h 4 3 6
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Math SectionStudent-Produced Response

• If , what is the value of h?

h 1 5h 4 3 6
4
/
7

• Multiply each member of the equation by 12 (the
  common denominator) to get 3h 4 10h
• Subtract 3h from both sides to get 7h 4
• Divide by 7
• h 4/7.

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Math SectionCalculators are encouraged

• A scientific or graphing calculator is
  recommended.
• Bring one with which you are familiar.
• NO CELL PHONES!!!

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Writing SectionImproving Sentences

• A few barges still move oil up to Hartford, but
  in the old days they had more traffic then.
• (A) but in the old days they had more traffic
  then
• (B) but in the old days traffic was heavier
• (C) but in the old days they had a lot more
• (D) whereas the traffic was a lot more in the old
  days
• (E) whereas then there was more traffic in the
  old days

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Writing SectionIdentifying Sentence Errors

• A few barges still move oil up to Hartford, but
  in the old days they had more traffic then.
• (A) but in the old days they had more traffic
  then
• (B) but in the old days traffic was heavier
• (C) but in the old days they had a lot more
• (D) whereas the traffic was a lot more in the old
  days
• (E) whereas then there was more traffic in the
  old days

Choice (B) is correct. It avoids the errors of
the original by eliminating both the unnecessary
adverb, "then," and the vague pronoun, "they."
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Writing SectionIdentifying Sentence Errors

• The electronic computer is a technological
  triumph that scientists have developed, mastered,
  and then put it to constantly increasing use. No
  error.

B
C
A
D
E
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Writing SectionIdentifying Sentence Errors

• The electronic computer is a technological
  triumph that scientists have developed, mastered,
  and then put it to constantly increasing use. No
  error.

C
B
A
E
D
The error in this sentence occurs at (B), where
an unnecessary pronoun is used. The object of the
verb "have . . . put" (like the object of the
verbs "have developed" and "have . . . mastered")
is the relative pronoun "that," which refers to
"technological triumph." The pronoun "it" is
therefore unnecessarily inserted after "put."
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Writing SectionImproving Paragraphs

• (1) The last century was a time of great
  technological progress. (2) Life is more
  convenient, comfortable, and efficient today than
  ever before. (3) Yet this has created new
  concerns.
• Which of the following versions of sentence 3
  (reproduced below) is most effective?
• Yet this has created new concerns.
• (A) Although this has created new concerns.
• (B) Yet this progress has created new concerns.
• (C) Yet these have created new concerns.
• (D) Yet this has created new concerns to worry
  about.
• (E) New concerns have been created.

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Writing SectionImproving Paragraphs

• (1) The last century was a time of great
  technological progress. (2) Life is more
  convenient, comfortable, and efficient today than
  ever before. (3) Yet this has created new
  concerns.
• Which of the following versions of sentence 3
  (reproduced below) is most effective?
• Yet this has created new concerns.
• (A) Although this has created new concerns.
• (B) Yet this progress has created new concerns.
• (C) Yet these have created new concerns.
• (D) Yet this has created new concerns to worry
  about.
• (E) New concerns have been created.

Choice (B) is correct. The vague pronoun "this"
is replaced by "this progress," which clearly
refers to the progress mentioned in sentence 1.
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Writing SectionPractice for the SAT Essay

• A practice SAT essay assignment will be printed
  on the PSAT/NMSQT Student Score Report. Students
  can go online to www.collegeboard.com/psatextra
  to see sample papers written for that essay
  assignment and learn about how the SAT essay will
  be scored.

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Sentence Completion

• Hoping to ------ the dispute, negotiators
  proposed a compromise that they felt would be
  ------ to both labor and management.
• Example
• (A) enforce..useful
• (B) end..divisive
• (C) overcome..unattractive
• (D) extend..satisfactory
• (E) resolve..acceptable

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Sentence Completion

• 1. Formerly ---- as a "dumb blond," Marilyn
  Monroe is now ---- as having been an intelligent,
  sensitive woman.
• (A) sensationalized ... romanticized(B)
  sabotaged ... described(C) denigrated ...
  lauded(D) recognized ... remarked upon(E)
  romanticized ... redeemed

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Identifying Sentence Errors

• Choose the letter that corresponds to the
  incorrect part of the sentence. If there are no
  errors, choose (E).
• Both Janet and Tiffany want to be a veterinarian
  and work in zoos when they grow up.
• (A) Both(B) a veterinarian(C) in zoos(D) they
  grow up(E) No error.

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Passage Based Reading
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Latin Root Practice
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Greek Root Practice
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Vocabulary Flashcards
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PSAT Words
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Scoring thePSAT
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How is the PSAT scored?

• Multiple-choice questions 1 point for each
  correct 1/4 point deducted for each incorrect
• Math grid-ins 1 point for each correct 0 points
  for each incorrect (nothing deducted)
• 0 points for omitted questions (nothing added,
  nothing deducted)

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How is the PSAT scored?

• Scores are reported on a scale of 2080 for each
  section critical reading, math, and writing
  skills.
• For juniors, 4750 is about average for
  sophomores, 4346 is about average.

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Getting ready to take the PSAT/SAT

• Long-term and short-term preparation

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Short-term Test Preparation

• Students should
• take the full-length practice test in the
  Official Student Guide and get comfortable with
  the test format. Take time to score it, to
  better understand the scoring process.
• Visit www.collegeboard.com/psat for additional
  practice test items
• Sign up to receive the SAT Question of the Day at
  www.collegeboard.com
• Become familiar with the types of test questions,
  the directions, and test format

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Question of the Day
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Test-Readiness Strategies

• Learn the directions beforehand
• Read all the answer choices
• Do scratch work in the test book
• Work steadily
• If you skip a question, be sure to note it in the
  test book, and leave it blank on the answer
  sheet. Return to it if you have time.
• Remember students dont have to answer every
  question to score well

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Tips and strategies

• Sentence Completions
• Some PSAT sentence completions have two blanks
  rather than one. If you can guess the meaning of
  one blank, but not the other, scan the answer
  choices, looking for the word youve guessed.
  Eliminate the answer choices that dont include
  it or a near-synonym, and then guess from what
  remains.
• Critical Reading
• Look for the main idea of each paragraph.
  Remember the concept of the "topic sentence"?
  Your English teacher may have taught you to
  include one in every paragraph you write. PSAT
  paragraphs often contain such a sentence that
  summarizes the central point of the paragraph.
  When you find one, underline it.

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Test-readiness Strategies

• In most sections, the questions are arranged from
  easy to more difficult (except for passage-based
  reading in critical reading section and improving
  paragraphs in writing skills section)
• Wild guessing is discouraged, but students should
  make educated guesses.

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Tips to Takeaway

• Dont spend too much time on any single question.
  Move around in a section, answering the
  questions you know you can do easily and saving
  the hard ones for last.
• If you can eliminate at least one wrong answer
  choice, you should guess.
• Be careful transferring answers.
• Think about the question before you look at the
  answers.

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To learn morevisit www.collegeboard.com
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Sources of Information

• www.fastweb.com
• www.scholarships.com
• www.collegeboard.com
• www.act.org/
• www.petersons.com/
• http//www.vocabulary.co.il/psat_vocabulary/

• http//www.college-scholarships.com/100college.htm
  .
• http//www.finaid.org/scholarships/.
• http//www.fastaid.com
• www.ncaaclearinghouse.org.
• http//www.hsf.net/
• http//www.testpreppractice.net/PSAT/psat-words-li
  st.html