What All Educators Should Know About the PSAT 8/9

The SAT® Suite of Assessments, made up of the PSAT™ 8/9, PSAT™ 10, PSAT/NMSQT,® and the SAT®, is a connected set of assessments that serves as an objective measure of the core reading, writing, and math skills essential for success in college and career. The PSAT 8/9, the first test in the SAT Suite, provides educators with an academic baseline with which to set students up for success in high school, college, career, and beyond. We interviewed educators from four districts across the country for their insight on the powerful benefits of this assessment.

• Jaime Bowers, EdD, Director, Testing, Research and Evaluation, Prince George’s County Public Schools (MD)
• Christina “Chris” Wehde-Roddiger, EdD, Executive Director, Postsecondary Programming,  Houston Independent School District (TX)
• Traci Thomas-Bragg, Director, Postsecondary Partnerships, Arlington Independent School District (TX)
• Jeanne Maxwell, Postsecondary Partnerships Coordinator, Arlington Independent School District (TX)
• Karen Zeske, PhD, Director, Advanced Academics, Arlington Independent School District (TX)
• Karen Lutz, Assessment Specialist, Denver Public Schools (CO)

How Schools Are Using the PSAT 8/9 

Dr. Jaime Bowers and Prince George’s County Schools (PGCPS) found a unique way to use the PSAT 8/9 as one of the main criteria that determines student admission into one of the highly competitive specialty programs at the high school level. PGCPS specialty programs include, among others,  Aerospace Engineering & Aviation Technology, the Academy of Health Sciences, and Teacher Preparation. Each year, roughly 10,000 students apply for around 100 spots within each specialty program, making the PSAT 8/9 a valued exam not only for teachers and counselors but also for students and families. Here are additional ways schools and districts use the PSAT 8/9:

• It gives educators an accurate way to predict performance on the PSAT/NMSQT and the SAT, and an opportunity to intervene early if necessary.
• Students can use their PSAT 8/9 scores to get free targeted SAT practice with Khan Academy®.
• PSAT 8/9 scores give students and their teachers information on whether they’ll likely do well in AP® World History and AP European History through the AP Potential™ tool.

What’s taking the PSAT 8/9 like for students?

Karen Lutz from Denver Public Schools shared that students were overwhelmingly happy with the PSAT 8/9’s transition to digital. They liked having their breaks timed individually, the innovative tools built into Bluebook™, and the shorter exam experience. “Our students love how short the test is in the digital format compared to the paper and pencil version. They truly feel they have more time to focus on answering each question instead of racing against the clock to finish the test.”

The PSAT 8/9 features two sections: Reading and Writing, and Math. In the digital format, the test takes about 2 hours and 14 minutes to complete. Because there’s more time, on average, to answer each question than ever before, the PSAT 8/9 measures students’ skills and knowledge, not their test-taking speed.

What are the primary benefits of the PSAT 8/9?

Dr. Chris Wehde-Roddiger from Houston Independent School District found that the PSAT 8/9 also provides an additional metric for establishing a baseline outside of state learning standards. She shared how beneficial the test is for preparing students in her district for advanced coursework and for other exams within the SAT Suite. “We've been piloting an exciting program for our 8th-grade students, the Art of Thinking. So far, we've used the PSAT 8/9 to not only provide students with a solid foundation for advanced courses. We’ve also made use of the data to help students build their critical thinking skills and to help them identify possible career paths they might not have considered.”

How can institutions use the PSAT 8/9 data found on the K−12 reporting portal?

Results from the PSAT 8/9 are powerful tools for promoting college readiness and college planning. Educators can access aggregate and detailed score data on the K–12 reporting portal.

The portal provides access to student results for all components of the SAT Suite, including the PSAT 8/9. It supports effective decision making with a variety of standard reports, such as:

• Institution-level aggregate mean scores, score band distributions, and benchmark reports for a single administration date or testing season (fall or spring), with or without demographic breakdowns.
• Knowledge and Skills reports that provide aggregate student performance in the Reading and Writing and Math sections, focused on test content domains.
• Reports that provide individual student scores, including a detailed testing roster and online student score reports (showing the same information students see when they view their scores online).

Karen Lutz and Denver Public Schools (DPS) use reports in the K−12 portal in robust ways, holding meetings with each test taker to thoroughly review their scores. Counselors from DPS use the Student Score Report to help students create targeted practice plans to improve their scores. They also use the report to guide students in goal setting for their future. Teachers use the Knowledge and Skills reports to plan their curriculum and to see where students are in terms of mastering content for college readiness. Lastly, district school leaders use the Performance by Demographic reports for school improvement planning.

What can the results from the PSAT 8/9 tell educators about their students?

Results from the PSAT 8/9 allow educators to evaluate each student's college and career readiness and determine which knowledge areas and skills need more work. Arlington Independent School District found these results to be a powerful means of seeing where students' strengths and challenges are. It helps teachers understand where their students excel and if they’re meeting grade-level benchmarks. Additionally, in receiving scores so quickly, counselors can use these results to support students in selecting challenging coursework. “Since we start to build student schedules far in advance, it has been super helpful to get their scores back sooner so that we can use some of that data to inform course selection for our students.” Arlington ISD educators use AP Potential to identify students who are ready for certain courses based on their performance on the PSAT 8/9.

How to Get Started 

Schools and districts can administer the PSAT 8/9 in the fall during a one-month testing window (typically in October) and in the spring within a two-month testing window (typically March−April). Schools and districts can now order the PSAT 8/9 for spring 2025 testing. You can visit our website to learn more about the PSAT 8/9.