<p>With pretty much no prep, my first PSAT score was 45 points higher than my first PSAT practice test score taken a month earlier.</p>
<p>On the practice test I took right before the ACT, my score was 5 points lower than the score I got on the actual test, even though I pretty much had an anxiety attack in the middle of the math test.</p>
<p>Do they curve them or something?</p>
<p>They curve them, definitely.
I know mine was curved immensely…somehow I managed to get a 218.</p>
<p>At least it isn’t the other way around.</p>
<p>No, for some it just works out like that; it’s the same for me, albeit not as drastic. Some people do consistently worse on the real thing in general compared to practice tests – be grateful you’re not one of them.</p>
<p>I wonder if being nervous makes me do better.
I sing better when I’m nervous because it sort of adds feeling to my voice, but I play the piano worse because my hands shake. :)</p>
<p>Personally, I just feel a lot more confident after taking a practice test. When I got to the actual PSAT, I scored 50 higher. I think it just works that way for a lot of people</p>