Editing PSAT/NMSQT (section)

==History ==
{{Education in the U.S.}}
The PSAT has been administered every fall since 1971. Some PSAT scores obtained before June 1993 are accepted as qualifying evidence for admission to [[High-IQ society|intellectual clubs]] such as [[Intertel]] and [[American Mensa]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Intertel - Join us|url=https://www.intertel-iq.org/join-us|access-date=2021-05-20|website=www.intertel-iq.org}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Qualifying test scores|url=https://www.us.mensa.org/join/testscores/qualifying-test-scores/|access-date=2021-05-20|website=American Mensa|language=en}}</ref>

Prior to 1997, the PSAT was composed of only Math and Verbal sections. The Verbal section received a double weighting to allow a full composite score of 240 points.<ref name=colloquy>{{cite web | title=Conversion norms for general population on supervised tests|url=http://www.colloquysociety.org/col82nrm.htm| access-date=2009-10-02}}</ref> The Writing Skills section, introduced in 1997, was partially derived from the discontinued Test of Standard Written English (TSWE).<ref name=revised>{{cite web | title=Revised PSAT Debuts in October|url=http://www.fairtest.org/revised-psat-debuts-october| access-date=2009-10-02}}</ref>

The PSAT changed its format and content in Fall 2015.  Originally, each of the three sections was scored on a scale of 20 to 80 points, adding up to a maximum composite score of 240 points. This paralleled the SAT, which is graded on a scale of 200 to 800 for each section (the narrower range is to distinguish from which test a score comes and to denote less accuracy). However, unlike the old (2005) SAT, the old PSAT did not include higher-level mathematics (e.g. concepts from Algebra II) or an essay in its writing section (which was added to the SAT in 2005). The number of multiple-choice answers was reduced from five to four, improving the likelihood of making a successful guess, and the quarter-point penalty for wrong answers was eliminated.

Continuing with the College board's transition to digital SATs internationally, the first digital PSATs were administered in October 2023.