PSAT/NMSQT
Education & Academia abbreviation · Standardized Test
| Stands for | Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test |
|---|---|
| Categories | Education & Academia |
PSAT/NMSQT stands for Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, a standardized test abbreviation.
Digital practice version of the SAT given each October mainly to high school juniors, scored from 320 to 1520. Juniors' results are converted into a Selection Index that the National Merit Scholarship Corporation uses to name roughly 16,000 Semifinalists each year.
Example: His PSAT/NMSQT Selection Index of 219 made him a National Merit Semifinalist in Ohio.
Usage notes
Only scores from the junior-year test count toward National Merit; sophomores take it for practice. Semifinalist cutoffs are set state by state, so the qualifying index varies widely, from the low 200s to the low 220s. The College Board also offers the PSAT 10 and PSAT 8/9, which do not enter students in the National Merit program.
Related abbreviations
More standardized test abbreviations
- PARCC – Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers
- PCAT – Pharmacy College Admission Test
- PIRLS – Progress in International Reading Literacy Study
- PISA – Programme for International Student Assessment
- PSAT 10 – Preliminary SAT for tenth graders
- PSAT 8/9 – Preliminary SAT for grades 8 and 9
- PTE – Pearson Test of English
- SAQ – Short-answer question
- SAT – SAT (originally Scholastic Aptitude Test)
- SBAC – Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
- SHSAT – Specialized High Schools Admissions Test
- SSAT – Secondary School Admission Test