PSAT Score Calculator (2026)

Two sections, Reading and Writing and Math, each scored 160 to 760, for a total of 320 to 1520. Like the SAT it is adaptive: your first module decides whether the second is harder or easier, and the College Board scores it with item response theory, so there is no fixed raw to scaled table for the real test. For a paper practice test the official conversion table applies and that is what this calculator uses.

The PSAT max score is 1520, from 760 in each section. The scale stops at 760 instead of 800 because the PSAT is a slightly shorter and easier test than the SAT and its scores are placed on the same scale, so a 1520 PSAT does not mean a 1600 SAT. The Selection Index tops out at 228.

Double your Reading and Writing section score, add your Math section score, and divide by ten: (2 x RW + Math) / 10. Section scores of 680 and 650 give (1360 + 650) / 10 = 201. The calculator shows the index under your result as a range, because practice test conversions give a low and a high score. The index counts only in your junior year test (or the test taken in the third year of a four year program).

For National Merit, NMSC uses your Selection Index, not your total, and the cutoff depends on your state and your year. Each September NMSC names about 16,000 Semifinalists, the highest Selection Index scorers in each state, so the cutoff differs by state, usually between the low 200s and the low 220s; about 34,000 more students become Commended Students at a single national cutoff a few points lower. NMSC does not publish the cutoffs in advance; the official numbers come to your school with the September letters.

On the official Practice Test 1 paper table, 60 of 66 Reading and Writing questions and 48 of 54 Math questions give section ranges of 660 to 720 and 600 to 680, a total of 1260 to 1400 with a midpoint of 1330, and a Selection Index between 192 and 212. The real adaptive test can land anywhere in such a range, so plan on a few more correct answers than the midpoint suggests.

You do not need to: the PSAT/NMSQT and the SAT are on one vertical scale, so a 1200 on the PSAT predicts about a 1200 on the SAT taken the same day. The PSAT simply stops at 1520 because it has no questions at the SAT's hardest level. Most juniors then gain 60 to 100 points by spring with normal coursework and some practice.

The result above places your total on the College Board's percentiles for your grade. For the averages by grade and the percentile of every total, see the guide to a good PSAT score; National Merit Selection Index cutoffs run from 208 to 223 depending on the state for the class of 2027.

Yes. The middle PSAT/NMSQT total for juniors is close to 980 on the College Board's user percentiles, so 1200 is well above average and points to an SAT in the high 1200s or above with normal improvement. For National Merit you would usually need 1400 or more, depending on your state.

No. Colleges do not see PSAT scores. The test matters for National Merit recognition in your junior year, for practice, and for the personalized SAT study plan the College Board links to your Khan Academy account. The PSAT 8/9 and PSAT 10 have no scholarship role at all.