According to the College Board, which offers study guides and practice tests for many standardized and achievement tests, "Spending your school years taking challenging academic courses and reading widely is the best way to get ready." Reading comprehension and writing skills can be improved in English, literature, foreign language, critical thinking and philosophy courses, as well as by reading a wealth of literature. Math can be improved by taking courses in geometry, trigonometry, algebra, statistics and calculus.
The reading comprehension section has two parts: 13 sentence-completion questions in 25 minutes and 35 critical reading passage-based questions in 25 minutes. For sentence completion tests, students should study sample questions available at websites and tutoring services. Because this portion tests a student's ability to comprehend the subject of a sentence and complete it with the best possible option, students can also improve this skill by reading well-written novels and textbooks. Students should also practice taking reading comprehension tests by engaging some simple rules. According to the authors of "Test-Taking Strategies," students should read the questions first, then read the passage. In this way, they can determine what information they need to take from the passage to find the answer.
The math portion of the PSAT is broken down into two types of questions: 28 multiple-choice and 10 grid-in, the latter requiring a student to enter a short answer. Students get 25 minutes to complete each section. For multiple-choice questions, students should study practice tests. They should determine the answer to each question before reading the answer options, and then eliminate all the implausible answers. Because the math test is timed, students should practice with their scientific calculator, making sure they know its shortcut keys and memorizing formulas for factoring measurements, volume, fractions, decimals and the factoring order for algebraic equations.
The PSAT gives students 30 minutes to answer 14 identifying sentence error questions, 20 improving sentence questions and five improving paragraph questions. Understanding fixed rules of grammar and mechanics (such as punctuation) is pivotal to succeeding in the sentence error portion. Students should practice sentence skills. Improving both sentences and paragraphs will require good reading comprehension skills gleaned from reading a lot of well-written documents and from improving memory recall regarding reading and sentence variety with solid note-taking.