The PSAT / NMSQT should be taken in your junior year or earlier, in fact, some students take the test during their sophomore year. If you are a sophomore when you take the test you will be given a sophomore percentile. This is to enable a comparison to be made with other sophomores who are planning on attending college.
If you do decide to do it earlier you need to be aware that the PSAT / NMSQT is a junior-level test. In other words if your score is on the low side, don't worry. It will probably get better as time goes by. Younger students should focus on skills, not score, and in this way work on improving required skills. This helps with their high shool performance as well as laying the groundwork for the junior year, the junior-year PSAT / NMSQT, the SAT and college.
What to Expect on the Test
The PSAT / NMSQT is two hours and ten minutes long and includes five sections:
* Two 25-minute critical reading sections
* Two 25-minute math sections
* One 30-minute writing skills section
Critical Reading
Two 25 minute critical reading sections will give you a total of 48 questions. These are made up of:
* 13 Sentence completions
* 35 Critical reading questions
Math
Two 25 minute math sections will give you a total of 38 questions comprised of:
* 28 multiple-choice math questions
* 10 Student-produced responses or grid-ins
You can use a calculator to answer this section so choose one you are comfortable with. You will need to have basic skills in 4 math categories:
* Numbers and Operation
* Algebra and Functions (but not 3rd year level math that may appear on the new SAT)
* Geometry and Measurement
* Data Analysis, Statistics and Probability
Writing Skills
One 30 minute writing section for a total of 39 questions
* 14 Identifying sentence errors
* 20 Improving sentences
* 5 Improving paragraph questions
These are multiple-choice questions on writing skills and evaluate the ability to express ideas well in standard-written English. This section is aimed at testing the students ability to spot flaws in usage and structure, as well as their skill in using language with a grasp of meaning.
