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By taking the PSAT and the PLAN, you have already taken your first steps toward college.

Both tests show you the kinds of reading, math and writing skills you will need to succeed in college.

Lue Healy, Effingham County High School, 2013Understanding your PSAT and PLAN ResultsOne Step Closer to Making Your College Dreams Come True

OK1 These are PRACTICE TESTS

PLAN=Practice for ACT PSAT=Practice for SAT

The PSAT and PLAN are Practice Tests. The Plan gives you practice for taking the ACT. The PSAT gives you experience in preparing for the SAT!2The PSAT and PLAN tests dont count toward college admission because they are NOT official scores but the results DO give you feedback on the strengths and weaknesses in your education so you can start thinking about colleges, majors and careers

The tests provide preparation for the SAT and ACT: they use the same question types, format, and testing conditions as the real SAT and ACT.

WHY you took the PSAT and the PLAN

OK3 YESScores from the ACT and the SAT are an important part of your college admissions applications and your scores will help determine where you will be admitted and whether you will be admitted!Are the ACT and SAT really important?

OK4A sort of pre-SAT that measures academic skills youll need for college and predicts a score on the SAT.

What is the PSAT?

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Question Types:The same, except the PSAT does not have an essay component.

Length:The PSAT is 2 hours, 10 minutes.The SAT is 3 hours, 45 minutes.

Level of Difficulty:The PSAT does not have 11th grade-level math questions.How does the PSAT compare to the SAT?

How does the PSAT compare to the SAT? The question types are the same except that the PSAT does not have an essay component. The real SAT is almost twice as long as the PSAT and the PSAT does not contain 11th grade level math questions. 6

Your PSAT Score Report:Contains information to help you improve your academic skills.Lists skills that you have the best chance of improving with additional work.Includes an the Online ACCESS Code at the bottom score sheet to let you access lots of valuable information.Using PSAT Personalized Skills Information may help you score more points in the future!

BY using the PSAT personalized skills information, you may score more points on college admissions tests in the future. Your score report contains information to help you identify academic skills that you have the best chance of improving with additional work. Your score report includes an online access code at the bottom of the score sheet. By logging in to this account, you can get explanations for the questions you missed and lots more valuable information.7

Scale:20-80 for each test section

Averages:11th Graders: 47-5010th Graders: 43-46

To approximate SAT Scores:

Add a 0 to the end of your score!

PSAT scores cannot be used for college admission! How is the PSAT Scored?

How is the PSAT Scored? The scale ranges from 20-80 on each test section. The averages for 10th graders are between 43-46. To approximate your present SAT scores, just add a zero but each of your scores but PLEASE KNOW THAT YOUR PSAT scores are unofficial and cannot be used for college admission.8 Just as in the SAT, there are Three Major Scores

Critical ReadingMathematicsWritingUnderstanding Your

PSATResults

OK9Score range. If you were to take the test again many times, your predicted scores would fall in this range

PercentileIf you are a junior, your scores are compared to those of other juniors.If you are a sophomore or younger student, your scores are compared to those of sophomores. Predicted SAT ScoreYou can see your projected SAT score online in My College QuickStart (www.collegeboard.org/quickstart). Score

Look at your PSAT score report with me now. Your score report contains lots of numbers. Notice that under each section, you have received a score it has a circle around it. Right below this number is a range of numbers on this sheet 46-54. This range tells you the range of what your predicted score would probably be if you took the test again for many times.The percentile tells you how your scores compared to other sophomores. You made a higher score than this percentage of other sophomores who took the test. If you want to see a prediction of your SAT score, log in to the website using your college access code at the bottom of the score report.10

AnswersYour test booklet has been returned so you can review your answers. 1st column number of question2nd column correct answer3rd column - means correct 0 means omitted Alphabetical letter means incorrect answer you chose 4th column Level of difficulty E= Easy M= Medium H= Hard

Student produced answers: Some math problems required you to grid in answers instead of selecting an option. For these questions, the correct answers are written in here.

Your test booklet has been returned so you can review your answers. The 1st column tells you the number of of the questionThe 2nd column gives you the correct answerThe 3rd column contains a check if you got the question correct, a 0 if you ommitted it and then alphabetical letter tells you the incorrect answer that you chose.The 4th column tells you the level of difficulty of each question was the question E for easy, M for medium, H for Hard. 11A sort of pre-ACT that measures the same skills youll need for the ACT and measures skills you will need for college too!

What is the PLAN?

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Question Types:The same, except the PLAN does not have an essay component.

Length:The PLAN is 1 hours, 55 minutes.The ACT is 2 hours, 55 minutes. (plus 20 more for writing section which all Georgia students should take!)

.How does the ACT compare to the PLAN?

The PLAN helps you practice for the ACT. The two tests contain the same question types except that the PLAN does not contain an essay component. The real ACT will be about twice as long as the PLAN. All colleges in Georgia that use the ACT require that you also take the writing portion so make SURE you sign up for this!13How is the PLAN Scored? Each of the four sections of the test are scored Math English Science Reasoning Reading Comprehension

You can earn a score between 9-32 on each. The scores are averaged together to get a Composite Score

The PLAN is scored by averaging each of the four sections math, English, Science Reasoning and Reading Comprehension together to give you a Composite Score. You will eaeran between a 9 and a 32 on each section. The score range on the real ACT goes up to 36.14

Lets take a closer look at your PLAN scoreThe Composite score is the average of the four sections of the test English, math, reading and science.

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The arrows here show the percentage of students that you scored higher than in the US and in your school on the PLAN

OK16How Ready Will I Be for College?

PLAN BENCHMARK SCORES10th grade students that score at or above the PLAN BENCHMARK scores are likely ON TRACK to develop the skills necessary to be a successful college student in that subject area by the time they graduate from high school. Grade 10 PLAN Benchmark ScoresEnglish 15Math 19Reading 17Science -21

The PLAN also provides Benchmark scores. As a 10th grader if you score at or above these scores, it is likely that you are on track to develop the skills that are necessary to be a successful college student by the time you graduate. The benchmark scores for 10th grade are 15 for English, 19 for math, 17 for reading, and 21 for science reasoining. 17Don t panic! Remember that you are a 10th grader and not a senior and you are developing more skills every day that will help you test more successfully! Most students will improve their scores when they test again! MY SCORES ARE TERRIBLE!

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On the other hand, dont allow yourself to just give up and say, I am a TERRIBLE test taker!It is important to learn to be a better test taker!

Going to college is going to involve lots of tests!Most professions and occupations depend on your performing well on a test!

These include medicine, nursing, electrician, accountant, engineer, truck driver, police officer, teacher, physical therapist, veterinarian, and hundreds more fields you might choose to enter!

Your getting a license in these areas depends on your passing a licensing exam! So start now learning to be a better test taker!

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Read!Continuous reading improves vocabulary and develops essential skills.Read more books than just those required for class.Take Challenging Courses!This will help you to develop and strengthen your critical thinking skills.Take Some TIMED Practice Tests to Learn to Pace Yourself! Take the Test Seriously Every Time you Test! HELP! Any suggestions for doing better on the real SAT or ACT?

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Other test strategies that may help improve your score:When you take the REAL SAT OR ACT remember these tips:Read all of the directions.Read all of each questions answer choices.Do scratch work in the test book.PACE yourself dont spend too long on any one question!

OK21Knowing How and When to Guess Can Also Improve Your Future Score! ACT ??? Always Guess!Answer every question even if you dont have time to get through them all, bubble something in for each questionThere is NO penalty for guessing ??? SATThere is a penalty for guessingIf you have NO idea of the answer, leave the question blank!If you can eliminate some answers so you are choosing between three, ALWAYS guess!

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Focus on YOUR strengths when deciding. What IS the best test for me to take for college admission?

OK23Score Ranges for PSAT/SAT and the PLAN/ACT

SATACTSection score range200-8009-36Test Score range600-24009-36PSATPLANSection score range20-809-32Test Score range60-2409-32

Here are the score ranges for the SAT and the ACT as well as the PSAT and the PLAN.The average student who is bound for college will score about a 500 on each section of the SAT or about 1500 total.The average student who is bound for college will score about a 21 on the ACT composite. 24Lets compare your test scores! MY PLAN Score Find your PLAN Composite ScoreOn your Score Sheet

The student we have been using as an example made an18 ACT Composite Score MY PSAT SCORE Add together your PSAT reading, math, and writing scores.

The student we have been using as an example had scores of:50 Critical readingMath44 Writing146 Total PSAT score

Now, lets compare your test scores. Taking your PLAN score sheet, look at your composite score and write it down. Do that now. (Pause)Now take your PSAT score sheet and write down your three scores for math, critical reading and writing and add them together. DO that now (Pause) 25COMPARE YOUR PLAN and PSAT Scores

PLAN ScorePSAT (Reading, Writing, and Math) Score24023422621932213312043019829192281862718226176251702416523159221532115020141191351812917121161141510614100139012781175 To find which test you will probably do best on, compare your total three part PSAT score to your Composite PLAN Score using this chart. Which score was higher on the chart? For example, an 18 composite on the PLAN would be lower than a 146 on the PSAT!

This student should probably take the SAT!

Now compare your PLAN and PSAT scores. The scores on this chart are considered comparable by most colleges. Find your score on the PLAN composite, and then find your score on the PSAT three part score. Which score is higher on the chart? That test may be the best for you to focus on as you prepare to enter college. 26Some students dont need to take the SAT or the ACT! COMPASS, Maybe? Technical and two year collegesYou can choose to take an easier test for admission that is usually free called the COMPASS Test.

Four year Colleges You must take the ACT or the SAT for admission!You cannot use the COMPASS test for admission.

OK27Moving on with your college plans YOUR PLAN and PSAT booklets and score sheets are valuable resources for helping you prepare for college admissions testing.Keep them and use them wisely to help make your college dreams come true!

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