Average PSAT score for 10th graders (911 in 2024-25) and 11th graders (998), from the College Board's annual report, with the section averages, the PSAT 10 and PSAT 8/9 averages, the grade-level benchmarks (430 and 480 for 10th grade, 460 and 510 for 11th), what a good PSAT score is by grade, how the PSAT converts to an SAT estimate, the NMSC Selection Index and the National Merit cutoffs, and a printable sheet

"Average PSAT score for 10th graders" is a parent's question the week the scores arrive, usually in December: the report shows a number out of 1520 and a percentile, and the question is whether it is good. The College Board's annual report gives the means by grade, which is the right comparison; the same report gives the benchmarks and the shares meeting them. This page has those numbers for 10th and 11th graders, the PSAT 10 and 8/9 for younger students, what a good score is at each grade, how the PSAT predicts the SAT, and the Selection Index and National Merit cutoffs that make the junior-year PSAT matter. The printable has the averages, the benchmarks and a Selection Index worksheet.

Download the PSAT averages and Selection Index sheet (PDF) (the 2024-25 means by grade and section, the benchmarks, the estimated percentile table by grade, the PSAT-to-SAT comparison, the Selection Index worksheet and the National Merit cutoffs; two pages, free).

The averages, 2024-25

From the College Board's 2025 SAT Suite annual report (PSAT/NMSQT and PSAT 10 takers in the 2024-25 school year; most recent score counted):

The PSAT 8/9, for 8th and 9th graders, is on a 240 to 1440 scale (120 to 720 per section) and is not directly comparable; the annual report lists it separately.

Two things in the table matter for reading a score. The grade gap is about 90 points: a 10th grader's 950 is above average for the grade while an 11th grader's 950 is below. And the Math mean is below the Reading and Writing mean at both grades, and fewer students meet the Math benchmark, which is where preparation pays.

The scales and the benchmarks

The PSAT scale is the SAT scale with its top lopped off (1520 against 1600) because the PSAT is a little easier: a PSAT score is designed to mean the same as the same SAT score, so a 1200 on the PSAT in October predicts about a 1200 on the SAT taken the same month, and students typically add 50 to 150 points by the time they sit the SAT a year later.

The grade-level benchmarks, the scores at which a student is on track for the SAT's college-readiness benchmarks (480 and 530):

In 2024-25, 63 percent of 10th graders met the Reading and Writing benchmark and 35 percent met Math; among 11th graders, 67 and 42 percent.

What a good PSAT score is, by grade

The College Board reports an All Tester percentile by grade on every score report, based on three years of takers in that grade. The estimates below use the 2024-25 grade means and the SAT's spread (standard deviation about 235) and are rounded; the report's own percentile is the one to quote.

A good score is one above the grade's average and above the benchmarks; a score for selective colleges is 1200 or more as a sophomore and 1300 or more as a junior, which predicts an SAT of 1350 to 1450 by the following autumn.

The NMSC Selection Index and National Merit

The junior-year PSAT/NMSQT is the entry to the National Merit Scholarship Program, and NMSC ranks students by the Selection Index:

Selection Index = (2 × Reading and Writing + Math) ÷ 10, on a scale of 48 to 228.

Reading and Writing counts twice. A 620 Reading and Writing and 500 Math give (1,240 + 500) ÷ 10 = 174; a 700 and 740 give (1,400 + 740) ÷ 10 = 214; a 740 and 700 give (1,480 + 700) ÷ 10 = 218, the same total score and a higher index.

The cutoffs are published by NMSC in the autumn of the following year and reported by preparation companies in the meantime; they move by a point or two each year, and the state cutoffs are the ones that matter. A junior needs a Selection Index at or above their state's cutoff, which means a total score of about 1400 to 1500 depending on the split; sophomores' scores do not count for National Merit, however high.

How to use a sophomore's PSAT

1. Compare the total with the 10th-grade average (911) and the sections with the 10th-grade benchmarks (430 and 480); the section furthest below its benchmark gets the work.
2. Read the Knowledge and Skills section of the report: the eight content domains show which types of question lost the points.
3. Plan the junior-year PSAT in October: it is the one that counts for National Merit, and a sophomore at 1200 or more is a candidate for the cutoffs with a year's preparation.
4. Expect the SAT to be 50 to 150 points above the PSAT taken a year earlier, more with focused preparation.

Practice: eight questions

1. A 10th grader scores 960. Above or below the grade average, and by how much?
2. An 11th grader scores 960. Above or below?
3. Reading and Writing 650, Math 600: the Selection Index?
4. Reading and Writing 600, Math 650: the Selection Index? Which split is better for National Merit?
5. A 10th grader has 440 Reading and Writing and 460 Math. Which benchmark is missed?
6. What is the highest possible PSAT/NMSQT total, and why is it not 1600?
7. A junior's Selection Index is 212 in a state whose cutoff is 221. Commended, Semifinalist, or neither?
8. Roughly what SAT score does a PSAT 1250 predict a year later?

Answers: 1) Above, by 49 points. 2) Below, by 38. 3) (1,300 + 600) ÷ 10 = 190. 4) (1,200 + 650) ÷ 10 = 185; the first, because Reading and Writing counts twice. 5) Math (460 is below 480; 440 meets 430). 6) 1520; the PSAT is slightly easier, so its scale stops short of the SAT's. 7) Commended (above 210) but not Semifinalist. 8) About 1300 to 1400.

Download the PSAT averages and Selection Index sheet (PDF)

Where to get help

A 1-on-1 online PSAT and SAT class with a tutor who holds a master's degree in mathematics, US after-school hours: the score report read domain by domain, Math brought to and past the benchmark, Reading and Writing drilled by question type because it counts double for National Merit, and a timed Bluebook practice test every month before the junior-year PSAT. The recording and notes after every class, the same tutor every week, US$10 to $13 an hour. The PSAT page has the course; the free 30-minute first class is a real lesson, usually on the score report the family brings.

Questions parents ask

See how we teach this, 1-on-1 online →