How the PSAT/NMSQT is scored
The PSAT/NMSQT has the same two sections as the SAT, Reading and Writing (54 questions, 64 minutes) and Math (44 questions, 70 minutes), and like the SAT it is a multistage adaptive test.[1][2] Each section is scored 160–760, so the total runs from 320 to 1520. The PSAT 10 uses the same scale.[3]
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Reading and Writing | 54 questions, 64 min, 160–760 |
| Math | 44 questions, 70 min, 160–760 |
| Total | 320–1520 |
| Selection Index | 48–228 |
| Average total, 2025–26 | 954 (RW 486, Math 468) |
The 2025–26 averages come from College Board’s annual report: 2,986,867 students took the PSAT/NMSQT.[8]
PSAT Selection Index: the National Merit number
The Selection Index doubles your Reading and Writing score, adds your Math score and divides by 10. College Board’s wording is “calculated by doubling your Reading and Writing Score, adding it to your Math score, then dividing that sum by 10.”[3] Reading and Writing therefore counts twice as much as Math.
Worked example
Reading and Writing 610, Math 590: (2 × 610 + 590) ÷ 10 = (1,220 + 590) ÷ 10 = 181. A perfect 760 / 760 gives 228; the minimum 160 / 160 gives 48.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation uses the index “as an initial screen” of program entrants. About 34,000 students are named Commended on a nationally applied qualifying score, and more than 16,000 become Semifinalists on qualifying scores set state by state.[6]
National Merit cutoff: Commended and Semifinalist
The Commended cutoff is national and changes from year to year. For the 2027 program, entered through the October 2025 PSAT/NMSQT, it was 208; 1,254,659 students entered that program.[7]
Semifinalist cutoffs are set for each state, at the score where the state’s allocation is most closely filled.[6] NMSC publishes them in its Guide to the National Merit Scholarship Program but marks the table as proprietary, so we do not reproduce it. Check the current guide on NMSC’s site for your state.[7]
How students enterStudents enter the National Merit program by taking the PSAT/NMSQT: the 2027 program, for example, was entered through the October 2025 test.[7] The current Student Guide lists the grade and other eligibility rules.[2]
PSAT score calculator for practice tests
Switch the calculator to “Correct answers from a practice test” to estimate a score from a paper practice test. It uses College Board’s scoring table for PSAT/NMSQT Practice Test #2, which converts each raw score to a score range and works out the Selection Index from the low and high ends.[4][5]
| Correct | Reading and Writing (of 66) | Math (of 54) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 180–250 | 250–310 |
| 20 | 310–350 | 360–400 |
| 30 | 370–410 | 420–460 |
| 40 | 440–480 | 510–570 |
| 45 | 470–530 | 580–640 |
| 50 | 520–580 | 650–730 |
| 54 | 560–620 | 760 |
| 60 | 650–710 | – |
| 66 | 760 | – |
For averages and what counts as a good result, see the PSAT score range guide. When you move on to the SAT, the SAT score calculator does the same for SAT practice tests, and what is a good SAT score explains percentiles. Comparing with the ACT? Use the ACT to SAT conversion.
Frequently asked questions
How is the PSAT Selection Index calculated?
Double your Reading and Writing score, add your Math score, and divide by 10. RW 650 and Math 620 give (1,300 + 620) ÷ 10 = 192.
What is the National Merit Commended cutoff?
208 for the 2027 program. NMSC sets it each year from that year’s scores.
What is a good PSAT score?
Anything above the 2025–26 average total of 954 is above the middle. For National Merit, the Selection Index matters more than the total.
Where can I find my state’s Semifinalist cutoff?
In NMSC’s current Guide to the National Merit Scholarship Program. NMSC does not allow the table to be republished.
Sources
- How the PSAT/NMSQT Is Structured
- Fall 2026 PSAT/NMSQT Student Guide
- What Do My SAT Suite Scores Mean?
- Scoring Your Paper PSAT/NMSQT Practice Test #2
- Paper practice tests (SAT, PSAT/NMSQT and PSAT 10 scoring guides)
- Program Recognition
- 2026 Guide to the National Merit Scholarship Program
- 2026 SAT Suite of Assessments Annual Report (Total Group)