disclaimer: I know the math is not the only part of the NMS equation. This post is just talking about scores as if they were the only component, which they are not. Just idle thought!

I honestly enjoyed taking the PSAT each time I took it–for I took it earlier for fun my 10th grade year–however illogical that might seem. When I took the new SAT Reasoning last spring, I though it would be the same fun, only more! Twice as long, twice as fun. Sadly this was not the case; every minute past the cozy PSAT 2 ⅜ hours was another step on the long escalator to standardized testing hell. The second time PSAT was a little less fun than the first since this time its results could actually impact my life.

If the self-deprecating whining and screams of horror were any indication, PSAT results are in. The Phillips Exeter College Counselling Office actually told everyone that they were in before they were in, just to build up the excitement!

Anyways, back to me: looking at last year’s results my selection index of 228 appears pretty rosy. The Selection Index is a composite score generated from the Critical Reading, Math, and Writing sections of the PSAT / NMSQT. There’s some complicated math involved, generally done by test administration actuaries or rigorous computer algorithms… (the three numbers are added). Things look even better when comparing last years scores (what were they? In the mid 70s at least) with the state-by-state scores as presented by the CollegeBoard. Oh internet, how I adore thee: Where else would I find the records of the sophomore performance from 2004? Perhaps at a College Counselling Office. Regardless, this metric further shows how well I did last year (and hopefully this year too). It does tell me that percentiles probably end up lower when adjusted for Massachusetts and rounding. There is some other interesting information in that report, detailing the majors people picked and the reported GPAs. Either way, Massachusetts is good; Newton is better.

Amusingly enough, I did better on the math section last year. It’s comforting to know that my time at Exeter has seen a marked decrease in my pre-algebra skills. Fantastic. Predictably, my “words” scores have increased. To perfection. 80-68-80, baby. Which my score report will have me know means 99, 95, and 99th percentiles. Again, math is just sad, especially given last year’s performance. The PSAT adds insult to injury by giving you back your test booklet, replete with mistakes for you to see and grimace at. Still, nets me 99th overall.

Here’s my math (remember, I’m awful at math) though: 1.3 million taking the test qualify to be also “taking” the National Merit Scholarship Qualification test. Thus, the top 1 percent of that would be… 13,000 people. The splits selecting towards finals goes 55,000 –> 34,000–> 16,000–> 15,000-> 8,200 = win! If the percentile fallouts remained exactly the same from last year (and they did not) my 228 would be in the 99+ percentile (see the above linked results analysis taken from about a million people). Either way, this year it looks like that 13,000 spot more likely than not would guarantee me finalist status… or would it? The intricacies of the NMS elude me still. I may have forgotten to identify myself for the Black American National Achievement Scholarship, which would have been unfortunate. That would have been bad reading comprehension.

On a PSAT related note, CollegeBoard has rolled out a new program to sell information about people called MyRoad. I have tested out its Personality, Career, and Majors tests and didn’t fancy them. It’s free, but it’s ugly. Whoever made the template is a bad person. One need only slap in the code from the PSAT score report and use their college board account and voila, another way to feed anxiety.

I’d trackback all those poor suckers on technorati wimpering about their bad scores, but they’re all on livejournal, which despite having been purchased by Six Apart , doesn’t support Trackback in any satisfactory way.

[tags]Trackback, Six Apart, College Board, selection index, SAT, NMSQT, sam Jackson, Exeter, Phillips Exeter Academy[/tags]