Curious re Scores: PSAT vs. SAT vs. Retakes

Incognito

Incognito

Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2019
Messages
45
Good afternoon, y’all. As my DD prepares for her first attempt at the SAT, I find myself wondering what others have experienced with their scores. Did you see much difference between PSAT and SAT scores? Was there much growth between the first and second (or subsequent) attempts on the SAT? Did you or your DD/DS experience a score increase that shocked you?
 
Not SAT, but for Pre-ACT to ACT we were super disappointed. He took the Pre-ACT Pre-covid at school in the middle of October 2019 and his predicted score was a 25-29 composite. He took the ACT for the first time in December 2020, on a weekend, after being virtual all semester, and his composite was a 20. SOOO disappointing. So we are regrouping and he's going to try the ACT in Februrary/March at school and then schedule the SAT again in June. He had taken the SAT as a Freshmen just to get a look at it, but we didn't realize his calculator batteries were dead, so he took the whole thing without a calculator.
 
My DS did not do well in the first few attempts at the SAT. His SAT score was actually lower than his PSAT. He re-grouped and switched his efforts over to the ACT. First attempt was a marginal improvement over the SAT, but he felt more comfortable with the ACT format. After 3 more attempts as well as some targeted tutoring - he scored a 31 - which was good enough for what he wanted to do.

In the case of my DS - it was a year long journey, taking the tests multiple times and focusing his studying on the parts that needed improvement. (about a 7 point increase total on the ACT)

There are many great online prep courses that helped my DS tremendously. Good luck!
 
milmomsomeday said:
Not SAT, but for Pre-ACT to ACT we were super disappointed. He took the Pre-ACT Pre-covid at school in the middle of October 2019 and his predicted score was a 25-29 composite. He took the ACT for the first time in December 2020, on a weekend, after being virtual all semester, and his composite was a 20. SOOO disappointing. So we are regrouping and he's going to try the ACT in Februrary/March at school and then schedule the SAT again in June. He had taken the SAT as a Freshmen just to get a look at it, but we didn't realize his calculator batteries were dead, so he took the whole thing without a calculator.
Click to expand...
Ouch! That stinks about the calculator. I'm a teacher and I've definitely seen a decline in critical thinking/logic/reasoning skills since the arrival of the pandemic! Hopefully, your DS will bounce back after being back in the classroom. My daughter's PSAT10 math score was a little lower than her score on the PSAT9, but she went up in Reading. Hoping the semester of advanced Algebra II she's gotten under her belt since then will prove beneficial when she sits for the SAT next month!
 
EEBTTF said:
My DS did not do well in the first few attempts at the SAT. His SAT score was actually lower than his PSAT. He re-grouped and switched his efforts over to the ACT. First attempt was a marginal improvement over the SAT, but he felt more comfortable with the ACT format. After 3 more attempts as well as some targeted tutoring - he scored a 31 - which was good enough for what he wanted to do.

In the case of my DS - it was a year long journey, taking the tests multiple times and focusing his studying on the parts that needed improvement.

There are many great online prep courses that helped my DS tremendously. Good luck!
Click to expand...
My DD is taking the SAT in February and the ACT in March for that very reason. Hoping to target her efforts towards the one she feels the most comfortable with. Thank you for sharing!
 
Incognito said:
My DD is taking the SAT in February and the ACT in March for that very reason. Hoping to target her efforts towards the one she feels the most comfortable with. Thank you for sharing!
Click to expand...
One thing both my DS and DD stated is that they felt a little time crunch on the ACT compared to the SAT. The online practice tests really helped them both in making sure they managed their time properly. Good luck to your DD!
 
My DD had a middling PSAT (without any prep) but did quite well on the ACT (after running through a class.) It's kind of apples to oranges, but it does reflect the value of taking a course of some sort to learn how these tests work. She happens to be a quick test taker, which probably helped as well.
 
Incognito said:
Good afternoon, y’all. As my DD prepares for her first attempt at the SAT, I find myself wondering what others have experienced with their scores. Did you see much difference between PSAT and SAT scores? Was there much growth between the first and second (or subsequent) attempts on the SAT? Did you or your DD/DS experience a score increase that shocked you?
Click to expand...
DS took his first SAT in Oct and got 1340. Hit Kahn Academy pretty hard and got 1420. He then said, "I'm done." We talked him into another test and more Kahn Academy and he did a 1410. We talked him into ONE more test and more Kahn Academy and he did 1460. He was scheduled for an ACT but we blew it off once we saw his SAT scores. Kahn Academy helps!!!! I believe he did a 1250 PSAT which translates into about a 1340 SAT score.
 
SAT and ACT have different times for the questions. I believe it's 70 seconds per question for SAT, 50 seconds per question for ACT. Therefore, strong readers thrive on the ACT.

My son got 95th percentile Freshman year on PSAT and after study prep and s few tests, got 97th percentile (31) on ACT.
 
My DS was top 5% on PSAT. Did not do that well on the SAT. Took SAT 3 times, and increased about 50 points (took a prep course locally). Superscore was 1420 Combined. He was strong in GPA (nearly all AP courses), Calc A&B, 4 Science Labs, Eagle, Leadership and Sports. He was appointed to two SA's (USCGA & Navy). He's a MIDN.
 
Incognito said:
Good afternoon, y’all. As my DD prepares for her first attempt at the SAT, I find myself wondering what others have experienced with their scores. Did you see much difference between PSAT and SAT scores? Was there much growth between the first and second (or subsequent) attempts on the SAT? Did you or your DD/DS experience a score increase that shocked you?
Click to expand...
I’ll give you my run down just so you can see it.

October 2018 PSAT: 1130
October 2019 PSAT: 1160
November 2019 Practice SAT (at school): 1260
December 2020 SAT: 1250 (580 Math, 670 Verbal)
September 2020 SAT: 1220 (560 Math, 660), Essay 5-3-6
October 2020 SAT: 1300 (590 Math, 710 Verbal), Essay 6-5-6

I took a math SAT class to prepare for the March SAT, which was cancelled. And I didn’t study nearly as often as I should’ve; especially given the fact that many people have told me that my math score is low. Utilize Khan Academy! Don’t make my mistakes! Haha, but otherwise, don’t expect her score to go up every time. It won’t. Good luck! She’ll do great.

EDIT: I have a 4.3 GPA and a considerably low SAT score for the academies. If she doesn’t do well, the rest of her application can and will make up for it. Don’t stress!
 
PSAT is known to be easier than the SAT. I might be in the minority, but regardless of score predictors, my opinion is PSAT scores aren’t a great indicator of what actual SAT scores will be. For one thing, the overall PSAT is a shorter test than the SAT. Also - you get more time per question on the PSAT than on the SAT. I don't recall my CGA-bound son's PSAT scores, but he took the SAT for the first time in September and got a 1340. He took it again in October and got a 1430. He did nothing in between to study. He took the ACT in July and got a 31. He took the ACT again in October and also got a 31 (although one of his subscores increased from a 33 to a 34). With the exception of the aforementioned ACT scores for my youngest, all three of my kids had a bounce in scores on both ACT and SAT tests just from taking the standardized tests a second time. I think understanding the timing and just being more familiar with the testing format in general makes for improvement even if absolutely nothing else is done to prep.
 
I really didn't know anything about the SAT or ACT before the spring of junior year. My mom just signed me up for the PSAT 10, and the morning of the test I googled "What is the PSAT?" because I didn't even know what the test was about. I ended up getting a 1260 on that test.

I took a practice ACT as a diagnostic to see where I was, and I got a 28 the first time. When I actually studied for the ACT, I was able to get a 34. I was only able to take it once officially though because of the test cancellations this year.

For me, I improved a lot because I actually studied and learned the test strategy. I think that learning the testing strategy (especially for the ACT because there seem to be more questions for the allotted time and the science section is more strategy than knowing science) was probably even more important than studying the material.
 
My teachers told me to expect a 100 point jump from PSAT to SAT. They were almost spot on with a 110 point jump. This all depends on the student, time put into studying, and how they are at taking standardized tests.
 
tweety_bird said:
I really didn't know anything about the SAT or ACT before the spring of junior year. My mom just signed me up for the PSAT 10, and the morning of the test I googled "What is the PSAT?" because I didn't even know what the test was about. I ended up getting a 1260 on that test.

I took a practice ACT as a diagnostic to see where I was, and I got a 28 the first time. When I actually studied for the ACT, I was able to get a 34. I was only able to take it once officially though because of the test cancellations this year.

For me, I improved a lot because I actually studied and learned the test strategy. I think that learning the testing strategy (especially for the ACT because there seem to be more questions for the allotted time and the science section is more strategy than knowing science) was probably even more important than studying the material.
Click to expand...
I do kind of wonder what scores my youngest may have gotten if he had done some prep - I've been reading loads of great things about Khan Academy on this forum. But he's pretty autonomous in his schoolwork and with COVID and everything else, it just didn't seem important to push him to strive to gain points. He felt like his overall package for the academies was competitive and I guess he was right because he got the appointment offer he wanted. Kudos to you for the work you put in to get the 34 on the ACT! That's a great score!
 
RJB1690 said:
I do kind of wonder what scores my youngest may have gotten if he had done some prep - I've been reading loads of great things about Khan Academy on this forum. But he's pretty autonomous in his schoolwork and with COVID and everything else, it just didn't seem important to push him to strive to gain points. He felt like his overall package for the academies was competitive and I guess he was right because he got the appointment offer he wanted. Kudos to you for the work you put in to get the 34 on the ACT! That's a great score!
Click to expand...
Thank you. Congratulations to your son for his appointment! Test scores are just one part of the package, so he obviously did a lot of things right!
 
I think it all depends on the person and the test. I took the pre-ACT as a sophomore and scored a 29. I was super proud, and it said my expected score was a 30-32 on the real ACT. I took the test two months later and scored a 25. I was really bummed that I missed the score range by such a wide margin, but I did not quit. I took the test four times and ended up with a 32 composite and a 33 superscore. In the end, you just have to put in the work and not give up. I am totally a believer that practice and effort is what got me my score- not raw talent or ability. I used to take practice tests after practice tests to help me. If you want to get better at the ACT/SAT, take the ACT/SAT. Good luck!
 
I understand the worry about your improvement between your PSAT and the SAT, but I think the improvement will really come from one SAT to the next. I went into my first SAT cold to get a baseline and I got a 1270, and after using khan academy and taking a class through school, I got a 1380 the next time. I would highly reccomend taking a class if one is offered at your school and several practice tests through khan academy which is free and can be linked to your college board account. But my first sat score was not far off from both my psat scores.
 
I read somewhere that the SAT is not a test of what you know, but a test of how well you can study for the SAT. So, what I'm trying to say is that studying makes all the difference. My PSAT, which I didn't study for, was a 1360, and my first SAT, which I did study for, was a 1460. Khan Academy is a great resource.
 
DS first took his SATs in Aug 2020 and on his first attempt got a 1310 (640 V / 670 M). He felt he underachieved and was disappointed. For about the next 8 weeks he worked with a tutor on a weekly basis and 5 days per week spent 15-30 mins per day doing practice tests. He then took the SAT again in Oct 2020 and raised his score to by 180 points to a1490 (730 V / 760M). The tutor definitely helped with test taking strategy & by holding him accountable to regularly taking practice tests, but the the regular repetition of practice tests helped most.

By the way when he first took the PSAT a year earlier he scored an 1180 (580 V / 600M). The PSAT and SAT scores do not correlate on a 1:1 basis; if you google it you can find conversion charts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top