The PSAT is divided into three parts: Mathematics, Critical Reading and Writing Skills. For each part, the scores can range from 20 points to 80 points. High school juniors score an average of 50 points per section nationwide.
Regardless of difficulty, each correct answer is awarded one point. A quarter of a point is deducted for each wrong answer to a multiple-choice question. Unanswered questions or wrong answers to student-generated response questions are not tabulated. A raw score is calculated by subtracting the points from wrong answers from the points of correct answers. A statistical process, known as equating, is used to convert the raw score to the PSAT 20-to-80-point scale. Equating enables test scorers to weigh scores from different versions of the tests, and also to compare scores from the previous year's test.
Because the PSAT prepares students to take the SAT, the report provides not only a numerical score for each of the three sections, but also a range that is a few points above and below the score. Assuming that the student's skills remain static, this range reflects how the student's score may deviate in repeated testing. To derive the SAT score from the PSAT score, add a zero. If the PSAT score in Mathematics was 75, the equivalent SAT score would be 750. Included in the score report are percentile numbers that enable students to compare their performance with other students nationwide. If a student scores 70 percent in the Critical Reading section, he outperformed 70 percent of the test takers at his grade level. These percentiles are derived from the scores of only a sample of sophomores and juniors who took the PSAT.
The PSAT was constructed in such a way that the majority of students should complete about 75 percent of the questions. Eighty percent of test takers finish the last question. If the most challenging questions are concentrated at the end of a section, the percentage of students that finish that section drops. However, students do not have to answer all of the questions to achieve an average score.