I felt like I learned some valuable information that could be useful to future students and parents about the new PSAT. I wanted to share it and other juniors are welcome to share their observations as well.
This is all personal anecdote, so it might not be true for other people.
I found that I did much better on the new PSAT math than I did on the old SAT or the ACT. As in, I got a 760/760 for math, while I only got 700 on the old SAT math and 32 on the ACT math. My theory is that the new math test is more closely aligned with school and less related to problem-solving ability. Fractions and decimals came up a lot on no-calculator, so younger students should work on that.
The PSAT reading was not as good. I consistently get 800 on the old SAT CR and got 36/38 (which is in the 730-760 range). The questions asking for evidence really tripped me up. From what I’ve heard, that was a common stumbling block.
The PSAT writing was super easy. The curve was harsh. -1 was a 37/38 for me. This is pretty consistent with my past SAT and ACT writing scores, but I’m pretty sure the writing section is quickly becoming obsolete.
I really hope that the class of 2017 can impart any useful tidbits so that the '18ers and '19ers don’t have to go through all the confusion we experienced 