The PSATs, also known as the Preliminary SAT or National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Tests, have transitioned from paper to digital since the fall of the 2023-2024 school year. This change affected elements such as time, now two hours and 14 minutes instead of three hours, and the availability of calculators and the first and second modules. According to CollegeBoard, students will have more time, on average, to answer each question, meaning that the digital PSAT/NMSQT measures skills and knowledge, not test-taking speed.
The skills needed to succeed in these tests are still the same as before, such as showing evidence, using passages, effective writing by revising a text, math that is useful in the future and multiple choice and answer strategies in the math portion.
Although the PSATs and SATs are a source of stress for many students and parents, junior Akshara Palanisamy believes that it is useless and causes superfluous stress. “I think there are other markers to determine what students are better at,” she said, “and these tests cause unnecessary stress, especially with preparing. Kids often get discouraged while taking the PSATs because schools emphasize that this is the preparation for the SATs, when a lot of these colleges have recently made [standardized testing] optional.”
While students having more time for each question is meant to showcase intelligence and abilities rather than speed, junior Aslan Khan disagrees with the statement.“I think the digital PSATs showed my intelligence less because the traditional PSATs have a plethora of different types of questions. The difficulty and type of application is different than the digital PSATs.”
Junior Megha Bhat expresses a similar opinion, posing resentment on how the reading and writing part is combined into one section. She said, “Reading and writing are so different. How are you supposed to show what you got on reading compared to writing?”
Although there are elements of the digital PSATs students dislike, it seems more convenient and composed to Palanisamy. “I like the digital [PSATs] more because I don’t have to deal with pencils breaking, erasers not doing well, my calculator battery dying or anything like that.”
The organization of the sections is a big change in the digital PSATs. Each of the sections, ‘Reading and Writing’ and ‘Math,’ is divided into two modules. The first module has the same questions for everyone, but the second module depends on how well one does on the first module. If a student performs well in the first module, the second one will be harder, and vice versa.
Bhat feels that this change made the digital PSATs go smoother than the paper one. “The digital one was easier because there’s not going to be questions out of your league because they base it on how you did.”
Many students weren’t aware of the specific changes and felt unfamiliar with the digital PSATs before taking it. “I didn’t know what to expect, so I got a way worse score than what I would’ve gotten on paper because I had no idea what I was doing,” Bhat said.
On the other hand, Palanisamy expressed that she did better on the digital PSATs, but for no discernable reason. “Scorewise, I did better on the digital one, but that might be just a chance thing or getting easier questions on the digital one.”
The adjustment from paper PSATs to the digital one affected several aspects of students’ test taking experiences, both positively and negatively. With new technological advances being made every day, the digital PSATs are staying for spring of 2024 from March 4 through April 26, and more students will encounter the transition that students experienced this year.
