This past Wednesday, many of our students at Mathnasium took the PSAT, grades 9-11. But what is the PSAT? Why is it important? The SAT is one of two critical admissions exams accepted by colleges and universities, the other being the ACT, both of which determine eligibillity for university in terms of reading, writing, and math skills (the ACT also includes a science section).
"The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test is a standardized test administered by the College Board and cosponsored by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation in the United States. Approximately 3.5 million students take the PSAT/NMSQT each year." The PSAT is the Preliminary SAT, which allows students to get a feel for what the SAT is like - it is a rigorous standardized test that takes more than four hours and is nationally administered in a very different environment than the day to day classroom. The PSAT also gives a comprehensive score report so that students can get a diagnostic look at their weaknesses and strengths to better prepare for the SAT when they're ready to take it.
The PSAT is also called the NMSQT, for National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Students who score exceptionally on their PSAT are eligible for more than $2,000 of scholarships when they graduate from high school and go to university.
There are four parts to the SAT - reading, writing, math (with calculator), and math (without), so it's paramount that we have a strong foundation in mathematics to succeed on the SAT. It includes concepts from algebra, geometry, precalculus, data anaylsis, and statistics among others, and focuses heavily on reasoning skills. So even though the exact test varies from month to month and year to year with each administration, a strong background in math and practicing our test taking stategies can lead to more consistency, confidence, and efficiency on test day. There are many ways to get our practice in, from independent practice books to expensive private lessons and classes.
Here at Mathnasium, we acknowledge that math is half of the SAT alone, so we focus on pushig our students in our comprehensive SAT program to master their math skills with us using our own tailored methods and materials, combined with the guidance of our experienced math tutors to support our students to achieve even after they finish their SAT, schooling, and leave to pursue greater things in higher education! Call us to find out more about how your local math experts and neighborhood math learning center can support your high schooler.
