PSAT Practice Tests

Answer 1

Even though the first "P" in the acronym PSAT stands for "practice," every parent or tutor worth his or her salt know full well that the PSAT is anything but a practice test. The PSAT is when the top academic institutions in the nation and around the world will begin taking a serious look at the potential and the performance of a student, and a high PSAT score can mean real money towards the education of a student in a higher learning facility. With this in mind, the practice that a student undertakes for a PSAT should be at least as rigorous as the practice that he or she has undertaken for any test hence, and for the SAT afterwards. The PSAT should be treated like the SAT, for all practical and scholarship purposes. Practicing for the PSAT in this manner can also prepare the student to achieve a much better performance on the SAT.

Though there are many types of practice PSAT tests out there, there is really no reason to treat the PSAT as a test different from the SAT. Although the PSAT is shorter, and some would say easier, than the SAT, many students have found great success in actually studying for the PSAT with SAT booklets. However, if this is not your chosen strategy, then you must make absolutely sure that the PSAT practice booklet that you choose is able to introduce your student to the strategy behind the PSAT test as well as the information that will be tested.

Above all, the PSAT is the test of a student's logic skill. If taken completely from the information that the student has learned in school, there will be many questions that the student can not answer, simply because he or she has not yet studied that material in school. However, the test takers will always place within those kinds of a questions a way to eliminate all of the wrong answers, leaving only the right one available. PSAT test question writers are admonished to make sure that each and every question of this sort has only one answer, and that there is no ambiguity here.

This non-ambiguity does not only apply to the math section of the test, but also to the English section as well. The general consensus is that answers in the English section will not go against the common morality, and that generalizations will usually invalidate an answer as less appropriate.

Answer 2

The PSAT is the The Preliminary SAT. This preparatory test is sponsored by the College Board and offers a direct SAT experience. The SAT is evaluated by many four-year undergraduate colleges and measures a student's writing, critical thinking and math skills. Submitting an SAT score is required by many higher learning institutions in the United States. The test may be taken by anyone applying to a public or private university. However, it is recommended for high school students to take the SAT in their junior or senior years.

Reading is the best way for a student to prepare for the SAT. Most high schools with an AP or IB program have a wide list of classic literature available that meets the SAT's vocabulary standards. Staying on top of school work, particularly math assignments, will keep a student's math skills sharp. Students should discuss feedback on their essays and other written assignments with their English teachers to see how they may improve. Each section of the SAT is worth 800 points, making a score of 600 to 2400 points available.

The critical reading section of the PSAT comes in two parts. The sentence completion and passage-based reading parts both quiz students on their ability to analyze reading passages. Next, the math section covers algebraic functions, number operations, geometry and data statistics. Calculators are allowed for all math questions. The writing skills section examines the student's sentence structure knowledge and English language comprehension.

Aside from working hard in school, students can keep more short-term plans in mind to succeed on the PSAT. The student should make sure to go over every question carefully and read each section's instructions until they make perfect sense. It's important to work steadily on the test, without stopping to work on an extremely difficult or puzzling question. All answer choices should be read and considered before making any mark on the answer sheet.

A strong SAT preparation can lead to an increase of up to 30 points on final SAT scores. Taking the PSAT is the best way to find a student's college admission standing and the areas of study they may need to improve on.