Problems with the New PSAT - A Report by Compass Education Group - Interpretation and Validity Analysis

Aug 29, 2026

Problems with the New PSAT presents a three-part analysis of interpretation and validity issues in the redesigned PSAT. The report explains how PSAT implementation creates a Catch-22 for developers and executives, while also highlighting the exam’s high-stakes role in student decisions between SAT and ACT and its feedback loop tied to Khan Academy. Compass Education Group bases findings on student and counselor reports plus College Board materials, focusing on percentile inflation, score discrepancies, and a lowered college and career readiness benchmark.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages23

Reading Time58 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Part 1: Percentile Inflation

Moving the Goalposts: A New, Hypothetical Measuring Stick

Part 2: Score Discrepancies

Part 3: Lowered Benchmark

Problems with the New PSAT A Report by Compass Education Group C O M P A S S P R E P . C O M Executive Summary The need to roll out the PSAT while still constructing the SAT puts College Board test developers and executives in a Catch-22 . On the one hand, PSAT reporting must, in part, rely on preliminary data as it represents a work-in-progress toward the goal of a redesigned SAT. On the other hand, the merits of the PSAT are the best evidence the public has for judging the credibility of the new SAT. Moreover, the PSAT itself has important purposes. Students make vital decisions between SAT and ACT based on PSAT reports, and the exam gives students feedback on their college readiness. PSAT data is now linked to Khan Academy, where students can work on areas that the PSAT identified for improvement. On the school side, College Board has encouraged weaving the PSAT into a variety of counseling and tracking roles. Encouraging those uses comes with the responsibility of educating the educators on proper interpretation and use of scores. It’s not clear that this standard has yet been met for the 2015 PSAT/NMSQT. Counselors are struggling to interpret some of the changes that have been made and may not be aware of some of the shifts or inconsistencies that exist. There have been mechanical challenges in rolling out the new test and reporting, frustrating counselors and students. Those issues have been covered elsewhere. Instead, this three-part analysis focuses on issues of interpretation and validity. Does the PSAT live up to its promise, and what does it portend for the SAT? Compass Education Group’s analysis is based on examination of student and counselor PSAT reports; discussions with students, parents, and counselors; and the tables and publications provided by College Board. The most important source document is College Board’s PSAT/ NMSQT Understanding Scores 2015; additional links will be provided where applicable. Rather than attempt a definitive exploration of the 2015 PSAT, this report examines three problematic areas of the new exam. This report was co-authored by Art Sawyer, Bruce Reed, and Adam Ingersoll, the founders of Compass Education Group. Comments or queries can be sent to guide@compassprep.com. 1 Problems with the New PSAT | A Report by Compass Education Group Part 1: Percentile Inflation A series of changes has greatly increased the percentile scores that students and educators are seeing on PSAT score reports. College Board has not been transparent about all of the changes and the ways in which they can distort score interpretation. Part 2: Score Discrepancies An historically narrow gap between sophomore and junior performance does not seem credible and leads to questions about how scoring, scaling, and weighting were performed and reported. Part 3: Lowered Benchmark A dramatic lowering of the college and career readiness benchmark for the “verbal” portion of the PSAT and SAT calls for a deeper examination and reveals potential structural problems with the new exam. Problems with the New PSAT | A Report by Compass Education Group 2 Part 1: Percentile Inflation A series of changes has greatly increased the percentile scores that students and educators are seeing on PSAT score reports. College Board has not been transparent about all of the changes and the ways in which they can distort score interpretation. Moving the Goalposts: A New, Hypothetical Measuring Stick A shift in percentile reference groups has, perhaps, caused the most immediate and pervasive confusion in interpreting score reports. Many PSAT report recipients assume that percentiles are calculated directly from the current pool of test-takers. Surely, a 55th percentile score for a section should mean that of current test-takers, 55 out of 100 scored at or below that section score. That’snot the case and has almost never been the case. College Board has long used the previous year’s test-takers as the re

FAQs

为什么报告认为新的PSAT会引发对分数解读的困惑？

报告指出，新的“全国代表”百分位参考框架改变了参照对象，导致家长和学生容易把百分位误解为直接基于当前考生计算，从而出现系统性误读。

报告关注的“Percentile Inflation”具体指什么问题？

报告认为一系列变更显著抬高学生和教育者在PSAT报告中看到的百分位分数，并且College Board对这些变化的透明度不足，可能扭曲分数解释。

报告的分析主要覆盖哪三个有问题的方面？

报告将问题归纳为三部分：百分位通胀（Percentile Inflation）、分数差异（Score Discrepancies）以及降低的基准（Lowered Benchmark），并进一步探讨其对解释与效度的影响。

Aug 29, 2026

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