How the PSAT is Different from the AP Exams: Study Skills

It might seem like the PSAT is not worth a student's time. It's a test that has the word "preliminary" in front of it. The results of this test have no bearing on whether the test taker gets into college, so why all the fuss?

There's one very good reason. Besides providing overachieving high school students with the opportunity to practice for a test that they likely consider to be the most important of their lives, it also provides students with the opportunity to qualify for a National Merit Scholarship. The National Merit Scholarship Program houses a variety of scholarship opportunities, which, in addition to possibly providing qualifying students with money for college, National Merit Scholarship distinction can help a student qualify for his or her college of choice.

The PSAT tests a student's writing, math and critical reading skills. So preparing for the PSAT is different that preparing for a variety of other tests. It's not as knowledge-based as any of the AP Exams; there's not necessarily a need to read a lot of novels to prepare for the critical reading section. The best way to prepare for the PSAT is to just practice taking the PSAT. There's a lot of debate around the fairness of exams like the SAT and PSAT, so it is unwise for a student to rely strictly on his or her intelligence and existing knowledge in order to do well on the test. The are plenty of opportunities for students to prepare for the PSAT, whether it's online or with books, DVDs or even preparatory courses.

The difference between skills for test-taking and studying for standard subject tests is significant. For a student who is studying for her US History test, she will likely focus on dates, names and facts. While it's true that she may also need to know more sophisticated concepts, like how the aftermath of World War I directly contributed to WWII, she'll likely be more focused on remembering who was the 13th president and what the Stamp Act is.

These kinds of details are not necessary for the PSAT. Instead, the student should focus on understanding how to get pertinent information out of passages of text, how to solve analogy questions and how to choose the best answer of a set of possible answers. The SAT and PSAT do have a "guessing penalty" but that does not mean that test-takers should only answer a question if they're 100% sure they know the right answer. Strategic guessing and elimination of options can do a lot to increase a student's score. Taking tests like the PSAT is a lot like playing a complicated game; natural ability can only take a person so far. It's important to also have an intimate understanding of the rules.