@RichInPitt , because their brains are still maturing and learning.
In my experience, the majority of students do better on the tests when they have enough time to prepare. Yes, a kid can prepare beginning in, let’s say, August, sit the PSAT in October, and take the SAT in November. Does anyone do that? I’ve never met anyone yet, but it’s likely that the student who is that incentivized doesn’t need my help anyway.
Any kid who wants to prep now is welcome to. But there are many students who don’t do well prepping in the summer. Their minds are on “vacation” and I’ve had plenty of students tell me that they prefer the idea of prepping during the school year.
Maybe the PSAT wasn’t helpful to your daughter, but it is useful to me when I am viewing it in context of a student’s problem areas on the test. I am looking at the specific types of questions they get wrong, not just the number wrong in a section. If I can see that a kid got most questions in grammar and usage wrong, that’s useful information. This information is available to anyone who takes the test, but not many look at it or try to use it properly.
Again, this is in my experience. My experience doesn’t have to apply to every kid. Each of my kids took the test once. My D didn’t like the ACT and did only the SAT. My son took both. They were ready when they took the tests. They both got high scores.
I see so many students who come to me after they’ve already taken the test. I also see a lot of students who plan to take it twice from the get go. To each his own, but in my opinion, a student should just take it when they are prepared. For most kids, that is not in November, right after the PSAT.