December 15, 2022

by Leanne Soulard

The College Board released 2022 PSAT scores last week. The PSAT score report is one of the most valuable tools students have in their kit when it comes to preparing for the SAT and ACT. Parents, you may remember taking the PSAT back in high school and then sitting down with your score report to unearth the hidden gems in there that would eventually help you score a perfect 1600 on the SATs. No?

While it’s true that nearly 1,800 colleges will once again be test-optional for the Class of 2024, not all schools have decided how they’ll proceed so it’s still a good idea for students to prepare for these tests. We also stand by our belief that strong test scores can bolster a student’s application in many instances. For this reason, it’s important for students who took the test to log in to their College Board account to review their score report, paying special attention to the last page. This is where they will see the questions they missed and find out if they were easy, medium, or difficult questions. Missed a lot of easy questions? There’s probably an easy fix for those careless mistakes. Missed a lot of difficult questions? That’s a bigger problem, but The College Board has that covered through its partnership with Khan Academy. Students can link their score report to Khan Academy and receive a personalized test prep plan based on their individual performance and their goals. I’ve seen many students over the years have great success with this approach when they commit to the plan. In addition to helping students learn strategies that improve their future test scores, designing their own test prep plan gives students a sense of control over an increasingly complex admissions process.  It’s a win for everyone.

Wishing you the happiest of holidays and all the best for the year ahead!