PSAT score calculator
PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10 and PSAT 8/9. Each has its own official table, and the three do not share a score scale.
Reading and Writing
Math
Example scores are filled in. Type over them with your own.
Your PSAT score Example
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Enter your module scores to see your score.
Reading and Writing
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Math
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Three exams, three scales
| Exam | Section scale | Total scale | Selection Index |
|---|---|---|---|
| PSAT/NMSQT | 160-760 | 320-1520 | Yes |
| PSAT 10 | 160-760 | 320-1520 | No |
| PSAT 8/9 | 120-720 | 240-1440 | No |
The narrower scales are deliberate. All four tests in the SAT Suite report on one common vertical scale, and each exam's reported range reflects what is grade-appropriate within it. A 500 on the PSAT/NMSQT represents the same level of achievement as a 500 on the SAT.
The Selection Index
National Merit does not use your total score. It uses a Selection Index, which weights Reading and Writing twice as heavily as Math:
(2 x Reading and Writing + Math) / 10
The index runs from 48 to 228. Because section scores only move in steps of 10, the result is always a whole number. There is a dedicated tool for it, and the guide explains the cutoff situation.
Cutoffs are not published, by anyone official
NMSC does not release qualifying Selection Index scores, for any state, in any year. Every table you find online is compiled from students and schools reporting what they saw. The most careful of those compilations is Compass Education Group's, and even that is crowd-sourced rather than authoritative.
This site will not print a state cutoff table dressed up as official data. If you need one, use a source that says plainly where its numbers came from.
Same tables, same caveat as the SAT
These conversion tables are for the paper versions of the practice tests, the same as on the SAT side. If you took a PSAT inside Bluebook, the app scored it, and no published table reproduces that. The distinction is explained here.
Moving on to the SAT, the SAT score calculator works the same way with the eight official SAT tables.
Read next
- The National Merit Selection Index, how it works The Selection Index formula, its 48-228 range, and the truth about published cutoffs.
- How the digital SAT is actually scored Raw answers, adaptive routing and IRT: the full mechanism behind a 400-1600 digital SAT score.
- SAT score release dates for 2026-2027 Verified test dates, deadlines and score release dates for the 2026-27 SAT cycle.
Common questions
- What is the PSAT/NMSQT score scale?
- Sections run 160 to 760 and the total runs 320 to 1520. PSAT 10 uses the same scale. PSAT 8/9 is narrower, 120 to 720 per section and 240 to 1440 in total.
- How is the National Merit Selection Index calculated?
- Double the Reading and Writing score, add the Math score, then divide by 10. The index runs from 48 to 228. Because section scores move in steps of 10, the index is always a whole number.
- Does PSAT 10 or PSAT 8/9 have a Selection Index?
- No. The Selection Index exists only on the PSAT/NMSQT, because that is the test National Merit uses. This calculator only shows it for the NMSQT.
- What Selection Index do I need to qualify?
- Cutoffs vary by state and change every year, and NMSC does not publish them. Figures circulating online are compiled from student and school reports, most reliably by Compass Education Group. Treat any specific number as an estimate, not a threshold.
- Is the PSAT the same length as the SAT?
- Yes, in structure. All the digital SAT Suite tests run 98 questions in 2 hours 14 minutes, with two adaptive modules per section. The PSAT scales are narrower because the tests are aimed at earlier grades.
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