December 15, 2021

by Leanne Soulard

The College Board released PSAT scores to students last week and, in response, College Edge teamed up with Alexis Prep and Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative (SMEC) to host a webinar designed to help students and parents unpack their score reports and put the information to good use.

The PSAT score report is one of the most valuable tools that students have in their arsenal when it comes to preparing for SAT and ACT and, hence, college admissions. I remember taking the PSAT back in the late 80s and sitting down with my score report to unearth the hidden gems in there that would eventually help me ace the SATs. Okay, that’s only half true. I do remember taking the test but I didn’t unpack anything in the score report. In fact, I’m pretty sure that I tucked it away in a Trapper Keeper where it lived for the remainder of high school and I still have the SAT score report that proves it! (That actually is true but probably a story for another time.)

In any event, one of the most important things on this month’s to-do list for students who took the test is to log in to their College Board account and review their score report, especially 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, too. Students can link their score report to Khan Academy and receive a customized test prep plan based on their performance and their goals. Students have a lot of control over their scores IF they put in the time and effort to improve them. Khan Academy makes self-prep efficient and effective but many students don’t take advantage of this opportunity. It begs an important question…why did you take the test in the first place?

If you missed our webinar, you can find out more about how to interpret the PSAT score report here. Even though many schools will once again be test-optional for the Class of 2023, we’re a long way from final decisions being announced and test-optional admissions has its own set of challenges for students. More on that in the new year.

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