Understanding the PSAT/NMSQT Test

by Tom Cangiano, Head of School

On National College Testing Day, GEMS' 9th, 10th and 11th graders were administered the College Board's PSAT / NMSQT.  The PSAT is a college readiness test that is relevant to your child's future success.  The test focuses on the skills and knowledge at the heart of a comprehensive GEMS education, including: 

Words in Context
Command of Evidence
Math that Matters Most:  Problem Solving and Data Analysis, Heart of Algebra, and Passport to Advanced Math.
Problems Grounded in Real-World Contexts
Analysis in Science and in History/Social Studies
U.S. Founding Documents and the Great Global Conversation
 
The PSAT / NMSQT is designed as an 11th grade test given to almost 2 million students annually.  Our 9th and 10th grade students take the exam in a low-stakes testing environment where scores are only shared with families and our college counseling office.  Our students benefit from participating as a continuous practice of standardized testing, to see where they perform nationally in accordance with their peers, to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, and to begin their college preparation journey. 

This year our 11th graders performed among the top in the nation with many test sections above the 90th percentile and up to the 99th percentile.  We are dedicated to helping students perform on all standardized college readiness tests.  In an effort to provide exceptional test prep we have partnered with Revolution Prep.  Revolution Prep is a nationally recognized tutor company that utilizes the Stanford University Growth Mindset model.  For more information regarding college planning or test preparation, please contact our Director of College Counseling, Dee-Dee Sanders.

Additionally, we finally received our year-over-year NWEA test score comparison, and I just wanted to give you a quick snapshot of where we are.  The tests were administered to students in grades 1-8.  First, the mean RIT score (This is the NWEA scoring nomenclature.) percentile of the eight grade levels which took the reading test was 94.5 this year, which is excellent.  This means that our median score was better than 94.5% of the schools who took the test.  We were especially happy with the improvement we saw in math, going from a mean RIT score percentile of 85.62 last fall to 92.62 this fall.  Moreover, the vast majority of our students met or exceeded their predicted growth targets.  Kudos to our lower school team for making key changes that have improved our results.