Why would the National Merit organization be more interested in the results of the PSAT than the SAT?
I’m guessing here, big time.
Perhaps because the PSAT is administered early before students have done any test prepping? Therefore could the PSAT be a more accurate snapshot of the inherently smart vs the better test-prepped?
I don’t know what it matters. Likely it is just early identification. Maybe this helps
http://www.nationalmerit.org/hc/vitalfacts.php
Early identification must be part of the reason.
But perhaps bcs some schools require ALL SAT/ACT test scores, many high-reaching students would be unwilling to “burn” one of their SAT scores so early in the process.
I think it is timing. To complete the process and award NMF, they need data from a cinsistent starting point in time, and need some time to process the data. This started before there were computers, too. Also, because the PSAT is only offered once a year, it is harder to game through repeated testing.
The full name of the test is PSAT/NMSQT. The second part is the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The test is sponsored by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
@NoVADad99 is right. This scholarship programme has been around since 1955.
I think one reason it hasn’t changed to use the SAT is because of the test prep, etc, that goes on with the SAT.
The PSAT is an early snapshot. We see kids who did “ok” but not well on the PSAT start “studying for the test” for the ACT and SAT, and suddenly they’re top 1-2%.
It’s like those TIP programs that identify smart 5th graders using standardized tests and then have them take the SAT or ACT as 7th graders. I bet that many NMFs were also TIP kids.
I recall that GATE identification was very early in the kids elementary school. Kind of an interesting notion of identifying the “naturally smart” versus those who work to do better.
and then you have to wonder why innate is more highly valued than effort which leads to equal outcome…
Kids in a high achieving high school are now preparing for the SAT early to take the SAT in their junior year. By doing this, they have an added advantage of taking the PSAT in their junior year.
This is quite different than when I went to high school and kids took the PSAT in their junior year cold and the SAT in their senior year cold without any studying or prep course.
In my kids’ high achieving school, freshman are taking SATs. Some have even taken them in middle school.
I was a junior scholar for the SAT in middle school and was selected for the Duke Tip programs in elementary. Did poorly on the PSAT in high school. Standardized test scores for me have gone down since middle school. In my high school standardized testing isn’t required and enforced as much. We don’t have to take yearly exams in math, science, history, english, and writing anymore. I was nowhere near close to the PSAT score consideration for NMF and neither were any of my peers in my graduating class.
Thought I’d like to share that for this discussion.
I graduated high school in 1981, and we took the PSAT in sophomore year to prep for the “real” PSAT in junior year. I also had many peers who took SAT prep courses, although I personally did not.
The PSAT game is being changed completely. Now there are PSAT8/9, PSAT10, and PSAT for students at different grade levels. Still, only the 11th grade PSAT would be used for NM purpose. Basically, it wants to compete with EXPLORE and PLAN for ACT for tracking the progress of students.
I graduated HS in 1978. Only one shot at the PSAT and noone in my school had even heard of an SAT prep course. I think it may depend on the school/community education and SES level.
Interesting stuff. My high school offers EXTENSIVE (and free) PSAT prep to all students who do well on their 10th grade PSAT to try to get as many NMS the next year as possible. Don’t want to post too much identifying info, but it’s been getting results…
My D’s school did not promote much the PSAT although they did offer it to 10th grader upon request in the past. Many students did not even know this offer. Now they are switching to the full gear PSAT for all grades due to the state policy. We will see if that change anything. It has around 20-30 NMSF/NMF (~5-8% of the class) every year before the change.
S1 took the PSAT with no prep at all and nearly made the CA semi-final cut-off. But I had in my mind the PSAT of the 70s/80s when in my recollection it was just prep for the SAT. So I wasn’t concerned with his studying for it per se. But later on at the awards presentations and so forth I realized there can actually be money in the form of scholarships associated with PSAT performance. So this time around (today) S2 is better prepared with a practice test and at least a few hours or review. He did great on the practice so hopefully the real thing goes as well.
Oh, if I could have a do-over on all the things I didn’t know when my first kid applied. 