Problems With New PSAT Overview

[This three-part report can also be downloaded as a PDF.] Promises and Problems with the New PSAT The need to roll out the PSAT while still constructing the SAT puts College Board test  developers and executives in a Catch-22. On the one hand, PSAT reporting must, in part, rely on  preliminary data as it represents a work-in-progress toward the goal of a redesigned SAT. On the other hand, the merits of the PSAT are the best evidence the public has for judging the credibility of the new SAT. Moreover, the PSAT itself has important purposes.  Students make  vital  decisions between SAT and ACT based on PSAT reports, and the exam gives students feedback on their college readiness. PSAT data is now linked  to Khan Academy, where students can work on areas that  the PSAT identified  for improvement. On the school side, College Board has encouraged weaving  the PSAT into a variety of counseling and tracking roles. Encouraging those uses  comes with the responsibility of educating the educators on proper interpretation and use of scores. Its not clear that this stand ard has yet been met for the 2015 PSAT/NMSQT. Counselors are struggling to interpret some of the changes that have been made and may not be aware of some of the shifts or inconsistencies that exist. There have been mechanical challenges in rolling out the new test and reporting, frustrating counselors and students. Those issues have been covered elsewhere. Instead, this  three-part analysis focuses on issues of interpretation and validity. Does the PSAT live up  to its promise, and what does it portend for the SAT? Compass Education Groups analysis  is based on examination of student and counselor PSAT reports; discussions with students, parents, and counselors; and the tables and publications provided by College Board.  The most important source document  is College Boards  PSAT/NMSQT Understanding Scores 2015; additional links will be provided  where applicable. Rather than attempt a definitive exploration of the 2015 PSAT, this report  examines three problematic areas of the new exam. Part 1: Percentile Inflation A series of changes has  greatly increased the percentile scores  that students and educators are seeing on PSAT score reports. College Board has not been transparent about  all of the changes and the ways in which they can distort score interpretation. Part 2 : Score Discrepancies An historically narrow gap between sophomore and junior performance  does not seem credible and leads to questions about how scoring, scaling, and weighting were performed and reported. Part 3: Lowered Benchmark A  dramatic lowering of the college  and career readiness benchmark for the verbal portion of the PSAT and SAT calls  for a deeper examination  and reveals potential structural problems with the new exam.