Attention CollegeBoard! There are still a lot of people without scores! We want an explanation! And a time frame as to when we will get our scores! It has been 2084 hours since we took the test!
@PAMom21 , FWIW, in this 2015 new PSAT, I think, at least for my son at the top of the math bracket, each wrong answer cost him 5 points. He missed 4 questions, and he got a 740 in math, so that’s exactly 5 points per wrong answer. 760-(5x4)=740
He missed 11 in R/W (but that’s out of about twice as many questions), and he got a 690, so although still in the 99%, he wasn’t quite as high as the math. So, anyway, he lost 70 points in R/W, for 11 wrong answers, so again, about 6ish points per wrong answer (at the top of the %iles).
I’m sure this math won’t hold up in lower %iles, but at the top, it looks like 5-6 points per wrong answer is about right for this testing.
(FWIW, if it matters, he got a 37.0 in the Math with missing 5.)
@mmom99, the points I was talking about being lost were points on the actual 240 scale. On the 2400 (1600) scale those 5 would have been 50 each!!! They were actual SI lost points. Granted, you didn’t lose 20 of those for 4 questions, it was more like 12 (120), but that first missed question dropped you about 4-6, depending on the year/version.
Just for clarification, what was the lowest SI Index (out of 240) on the 2014 PSAT that was 99th percentile nationally?
Not sure that data was ever published? For 2013 (class of 2015) it was 213. In the multiple years before that, it ran from 211-215.
Has anyone received an email from the college board with an access code? We are homeschoolers and have not received one.
Hi JayNatB. We are homeschoolers, too. No access code, no scores, nothing. Very frustrating.
We are homeschoolers and did not need an access code. She just logged into her CB account and clicked on the PSAT tab on one page or on another page it is labeled something like my college quick start.
For those who have not gotten scores, have you tried updating your address? Change Drive to Dr or Street to St (or vice versa) and save. Make sure your address is exactly like you wrote it on the test. Address is a match for the system. When I updated my address, the scores appeared about 20 minutes later (On Thursday, about 10AM).
@destined4harvard & @ PAMom21 — I found an official report that lists 213 in 2014 as lowest 99%ile SI. I downloaded the report but don’t have a URL handy
D3 received an e-mail with her access code on Thurs. evening. In addition to updating your address or other crucial identifying info, check your spam box.
If that’s from the 2014 report, that’s 2013 data…probably the same one I’m quoting. I haven’t yet seen data from the 2014 test, which would have traditionally come out with the 2015 (this year) results. Maybe later this month.
<<just for="" clarification,="" what="" was="" the="" lowest="" si="" index="" (out="" of="" 240)="" on="" 2014="" psat="" that="" 99th="" percentile="" nationally?="">>
@destined4harvard it was 213.
@micgeaux What’s also interesting is the trend of cutoff scores from 2005 on. If you take a look at this site,
http://collegeadmissions.testmasters.com/national-merit-scholarship-cutoff-scores-by-state/
There’s an obvious general increase in PSAT cutoff scores, with some states’ cutoffs increasing +7. This is why I’m thinking that there was more practice material, and students were used to the style of the PSAT, so it got easier to get higher scores as the years passed. However, now, with the new style of the PSAT, there’s not really practice materials at all, and so I’m thinking that the cutoffs will be lower this year and will be more reflective of the 2005/2006 years, when the cutoffs were lower as well.
If you look closely at those reports, you will see this statement next to the percentile data: “Percentiles are based on the Selection Index earned by college-bound juniors who took the PSAT/NMSQT in the previous year”. It’s been this way since the 2012. Before that, the reports read “Percentiles are based on the Selection Index earned by a sample of college-bound juniors who took the PSAT/NMSQT in (year of report)”. Very confusing, if you are trying to track data and compare it to percentile scores. If you have all of the reports (I have them from 2003), you’ll see the exact same data used in the 2011 and 2012 reports, two very different cut years.
Ok, so if we know that 213 was the lowest 99th percentile SI Index last year, wouldn’t it be reasonable for the lowest 99th percentile SI Index this year (out of 228) to be the same? So a 207 or whatever the lowest 99th percentile SI Index this year would be the equivalent of a 213 last year…
Here’s an interesting article that talks about some of this stuff.
(apologies if this has already been linked)
My scores-
Reading and Writing- 620/760- 93rd percentile *I bombed the reading ;D
Math- 730/760- 99th percentile
National overall percentile- 98th percentile
Can anybody shed some light on these scores? I’m only a Sophomore and had absolutely no preparation 
. I’m taking the ACT next year, so do you think that ACT prep over the summer and into the fall will be sufficient for National Merit Scholar “commended?” I’m not looking to be a semi-finalist, but just commended. Thanks for your response(s)!