Now That You’ve Gotten Your PSAT Scores… What Do They Actually Mean?
Understanding your PSAT score, what it tells you about the SAT, and whether National Merit recognition might be in your future.
Your child has received their PSAT scores. Maybe you’re celebrating. Maybe you’re disappointed. Or maybe you’re staring at a collection of numbers and percentiles wondering what any of it actually means. At Broward Tutorial Services, this is one of the questions we hear most often this time of year.
The good news? The PSAT is much more useful as a planning tool than as a score to celebrate or worry about. Here’s what you should be looking at.
First, What Is a Good PSAT Score?
The PSAT is scored from 320 to 1520, with two sections:
- Reading and Writing: 160–760
- Math: 160–760
Unlike the SAT, which goes to 1600, the PSAT tops out at 1520. But the two tests use the same scoring scale, so your PSAT results give you a useful indication of how you might perform on the SAT today.
A student who scores 1100 on the PSAT is demonstrating roughly the same level of achievement as someone scoring 1100 on the SAT at that point in time. Of course, that doesn’t mean the student will score 1100 when they actually take the SAT. Students continue learning, maturing, and improving their test-taking skills.
Don’t Just Look at the Score. Look at the Percentile.
Your child’s percentile tells you how their performance compares with other students.
For example, a student in the 80th percentile performed as well as or better than approximately 80% of the students in the comparison group.
That’s useful context, particularly because a 1050 earned by a sophomore may tell a different story from a 1050 earned by a junior.
Also, look at the Reading and Writing and Math scores separately. A student with a 650 in Math and a 500 in Reading and Writing has different preparation needs from someone whose scores are evenly balanced.
Your score report also includes a breakdown of performance in specific content areas. These can point toward the skills that need attention, whether that’s algebra, geometry, grammar, vocabulary, or reading comprehension.
That’s often where the most useful information is hiding.
What About the National Merit Scholarship Program?
Here’s where things get a little more complicated.
The PSAT isn’t just practice for the SAT. For eligible juniors, it’s also the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship Program.
Each year, approximately 1.2 million students enter the competition. About 50,000 receive recognition, including roughly 34,000 Commended Students and 16,000 Semifinalists. Those are impressive numbers, but they also tell you something important: qualifying for National Merit recognition is extremely competitive. And becoming a National Merit Semifinalist is not the same as winning a scholarship.
What Is the PSAT Selection Index?
You may have noticed another number on your child’s score report called the NMSC Selection Index.
This is the number National Merit uses to determine which eligible students qualify for recognition. It isn’t the same as the overall PSAT score.
The formula is:
Selection Index = (2 × Reading and Writing + Math) ÷ 10
For example, suppose a student earns:
- Reading and Writing: 720
- Math: 700
- Total PSAT: 1420
The Selection Index would be:
(720 × 2 + 700) ÷ 10 = 214
Why is Reading and Writing doubled? Because National Merit gives that section twice the weight of Math when calculating its Selection Index. This also means two students with identical PSAT totals can have different Selection Index scores.
What Selection Index Do Florida Students Need?
National Merit uses different Semifinalist qualifying scores in different states. The cutoff changes from year to year, depending on how students perform.
For Florida’s Class of 2027, the Semifinalist cutoff was 216. For the previous graduating class, it was 219.
Those numbers provide a useful reference, but they are not a guarantee of what will happen next year.
Students who took the PSAT in October 2026, generally juniors graduating in 2028, will not know the official Florida Semifinalist cutoff until September 2027.
A Selection Index in the mid-to-high 210s puts a Florida student in the general neighborhood of recent Semifinalist cutoffs. But being close doesn’t mean qualifying, and even a very high PSAT score doesn’t automatically mean National Merit recognition.
There is also a national cutoff for Commended Students, which is generally lower than Florida’s Semifinalist cutoff. Students who qualify as Commended receive an important academic distinction but ordinarily do not advance in the scholarship competition.
One other point worth remembering: sophomores taking the PSAT are generally not yet competing for National Merit. For students following the traditional four-year high school schedule, it’s the junior-year PSAT that counts.
So What Should You Do With Your PSAT Scores?
For most families, this is the more important question.
The PSAT gives you an early glimpse of your child’s strengths and weaknesses, but it doesn’t tell you which college they’ll attend, how well they’ll ultimately perform on the SAT, or even whether the SAT is their best test.
Some students who perform reasonably well on the PSAT may actually be better suited to the ACT.
At Broward Tutorial Services, we use diagnostic testing that includes both SAT and ACT material because we want students preparing for the test that gives them the greatest opportunity to succeed.
For sophomores, the PSAT is a good reason to start paying attention to testing, not necessarily to begin intensive preparation immediately.
For juniors, it’s a useful signal that it’s time to make some decisions about SAT or ACT preparation and an appropriate testing schedule.
And for students whose scores weren’t what they hoped? That’s why we’re here!
The PSAT isn’t a prediction of where your child will end up. It’s information about where they’re starting.
And knowing where to start is a pretty valuable thing.
Have questions about your child’s PSAT scores or whether the SAT or ACT is the better choice? Broward Tutorial Services can help you understand the results and decide what makes sense next.
Learn more about Broward Tutorial Services
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