The PSAT will take place the morning of Oct 10, 2018. The PSAT determines National Merit awards. Featured below are a series of questions answered by English teachers Mr. Ramlow, Mrs. Locke and Mr. Jones as well as Math teachers Mrs. Speelman, Mrs. Guseilo and Mr. Carnes. The first questions cover the reading and writing sections while the last questions cover the math section.

What do you think the biggest mistake students make both preparing for and taking the PSAT?

Ramlow: I’m not sure that you can make a mistake studying for the PSAT, because it’s practice, and it’s just another experience in preparation for the real SAT or ACT. [If there is any mistake,] it’s going to be that they haven’t visited the style of questions before. There’s little tricks of answering those questions. Spend time with materials online on Khan Academy getting used to the style of the test.

Jones: I think that the biggest mistake is not taking enough practice tests. I feel like they have the knowledge, but they don’t see it in the format that the PSAT presents it in.

Locke: I think one of the biggest mistakes… for English is that [students] try to increase their skills, but really the reason [the PSAT] is hard is because of the timing. The best way to study is to time yourself and take practice timed tests.

Everyone has certain strengths and weaknesses. How can a student identify his or her weaknesses?

Locke: Evaluate if there’s a pattern in the types of questions you’re missing. If you’re always missing a question that’s about commas, then you know you can focus on that… The explanations for why you missed something are really important.

What would you say to a student who hasn’t studied for the PSAT at all, and is reading this article the night before the PSAT?

Ramlow: Just relax. Remember that this is just a practice test. If you’ve never taken a test like this before, look at it as an opportunity to see where you are right now, and then you could prepare to improve. That’s the idea.

Jones: I think realistically the SAT and the ACT is more of a journey now than it ever was before. When I took the ACT I took it once, and I think now people take it two to three times. Their plan from the beginning is take it once to see how they do it see their areas of weakness, but if I were starting the night before I go in with that attitude that I’m going to do my best, see what my weaknesses are and then focus on those.

Locke: They should not read so closely. Taking the standardized tests are so different from English classes because we’re always pushing close reading and annotating. They should skim and scan, read the introduction, then the topic sentences closely… Everything in between that they should just skim over so that they have an idea of what the passage is about, and they know what the main ideas are. You should not waste your time reading so closely. Just keep moving quickly.

After a student identifies his or her weaknesses, what can be done to create improvement?

Jones: I think Googling any of those topics and then typing PDF at the end of that Google search [will give] you hundreds of worksheets with instructions that can give you really good help, and then maybe, if you have the resources get a tutor.

Every passage in the reading section is a different genre, so how should a student pace since not every passage is exactly like?

Ramlow: If you’ve taken the test in the past you should start with what you’ve done best at. Whatever genre you prefer, start with that. It might not be the first one.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Jones: You just have to clear your mind of all the stress and anxiety you might have because those usually have detrimental effects on test-taking, and realize that it’s a process. [If you don’t do well] you’re going to hunker down, study and get into it the second time and do better.

Math Section:

What do you think the most common mistake students make preparing for and taking the PSAT?

Speelman: Rushing through things and missing key elements in the problem, mixing up the signs and not solving a problem all the way through.

Carnes: I think the biggest mistake is that students don’t practice enough. They don’t take enough practice tests. When they go into the real deal, they’re caught off guard whether that be the type of questions or whether that be the length of the test.

What can be done to prevent making mistakes on the PSAT?

Guseilo: Practice reviewing your speed of answering questions accurately. Feeling confidently entering the test is just as important as practicing specific problems.

What do you think the best way to pace for the math section is?

Speelman: The first 20 questions are supposed to be ones that are very quick, so… get those done as quick as you can. You’ll have more time with the harder questions, because the questions go from easy to hard. If you go quicker on the first 20 questions it should be easier to finish on time. I would go from question one to 48, and always answer every single question. Never leave a blank question.

Carnes: If you read the question a couple times and you’re still stumped, move right on. I think sometimes people allow themselves to get caught up. [You’ve] got to train yourself with that rhythm to move on and then come back at the end, but only by practicing do you even know if you’re in the ballpark as far as time.

The highest level of math tested on the PSAT is Algebra 2. What should a student who has only had a few weeks of that curriculum do to prepare?

Carnes: I don’t think there’s anything that they can do. I would never say they need to go hire a tutor. They need to take it as is. The good news… is that a lot of it can be deduced through logic and so forth unlike the ACT where you kind of just have to know that information. I think that you can come up with a lot of the answers through deducing from other things so that, even if you haven’t covered [that topic] in class, there’s ways to get some of those [questions right].

Some students are enrolled in math classes such as A.P. Calculus B.C in their Sophomore year. What should a student like this do to study for the fundamental topics covered such as geometry?

Guseilo: I think that it’s important to go back to their basics to be a strong problem solver and have good algebraic skills. I don’t think you ever really forget [the fundamentals] though, because I think it shows up everywhere just maybe in a different way.

Carnes: Practice tests will bring some of those concepts back, but… whether they haven’t had Geometry in three years or not, there’s still so much math built into what they have to do to be in Calculus that they’re probably up on all that information anyways. It’s probably been integrated into their learning this whole time so that problem you might have to draw out a lot of geometry anyways.

What should a student who has not studied at all for the PSAT and is reading this article the night before the exam do to prepare?

Carnes: Well at this point that there’s nothing that we can do about practicing. Get a good night’s rest. Go to bed early in the morning. Get some breakfast. Whatever time the test is the next day, make sure you allow yourself enough time beforehand, so you’re not coming in rushed and all frantic when you show up. Get there early, and obviously bring what you need [including identification], calculator, and batteries.