2000 Archived PSAT/NMSQT Data
In the fall of 2000, students from the Class of 2002 took the PSAT/NMSQT to help determine their level of readiness for college.
Download each state's PSAT/NMSQT 2000 State Summary Report.
After 41 years, the PSAT/NMSQT continues to provide students with a comprehensive overview of their skills in three academic areas important for college-level work. In the 2000 academic year it provided information to more than 2.2 million students in over 22,000 schools. Students received a comprehensive score report that included thorough feedback on their skills in verbal reasoning (including critical reading), math reasoning/problem-solving, and writing (through multiple-choice questions that measure effective writing characteristics, such as clarity, consistency, precision, and logic). With this feedback, students can work to improve their skills—skills important not only for the SAT®, but also for college-level work. Schools also received aggregate information to assist in identifying particular academic strengths and weaknesses.
Highlights of National Data
In 2000, the number of students taking the PSAT/NMSQT increased by more than 5% to over 2.29 million students . Based on the WICHE projection of high school graduates in 2002 (juniors in fall of 2000), 45% took the PSAT/NMSQT in 2000. (Sophomore participation increased to 27% of the class of 2003.)
Characteristics, scores, and educational plans of college-bound juniors are summarized in the PSAT/NMSQT 2000 State Summary Report. Refer to your previously received School (or System) Summary Report to compare your local data with the data on the State Summary Report. View individual states' PSAT/NMSQT 2000 State Summary Reports.
Males accounted for 44.5% of test participants (up 0.1% from the prior year), while the percentage of female participants decreased proportionately. Of those noting racial/ethnic background, the percentage of juniors selecting a category other than "white" on their answer sheet continued to increase—from 28.3% in 1999 to 28.8% of the junior population of test-takers in 2000.
In terms of actual participation, both genders and most racial/ethnic groups showed increases. For juniors, male participants increased by more than 7,500 students, while the number of females participants rose by about 5,500. Participation by those who selected a category other than "white" on their answer sheet increased by more than 9,800 (2.8 %), while those who selected "white," despite representing over 70% of total test takers, increased by only about 2,200 (0.2 %).
Increases for specific racial/ethnic group were as follows: African American (3,062); Other Hispanic (2,311); Other (1,810); Asian American (1,257); Mexican American (999); and Puerto Rican (579). American Indian participation declined by 173.
Average Scores
Average scores for juniors in 2000 were 48.3 (verbal), 49.4 (math) and 48.7 (writing skills). Compared with 1999, these averages represented no change in verbal, a 0.2 increase in math, and a 0.5 decrease in writing skills. Mean scores in all areas were within the expected yearly fluctuations.
- Though the verbal score remained the same for the total average, it was composed of a 0.2 decrease for males and a 0.2 increase for females.
- The math score showed increases for both sexes, though relatively small increases: 0.2 for males and 0.1 for females.
- Writing skills averages declined for both sexes, with males decreasing by 0.4 and females decreasing by 0.5.
- Overall, males decreased by 0.4 points and females decreased by 0.2 from their composite averages.
Based on the Class of 2002's choice of majors, interests were as follows: health science and services, 15.3%; undecided, 13.0%; social/behavior sciences and history, 10.2%; business and management, 9.8%; the arts, 9.0%; engineering, 8.3%; and education, 5.7%. the strongest interest among males was engineering (16.0%); females' first choice was health sciences and services (20.4%).
Mark Your Calendars for 2001
Put PSAT/NMSQT dates on school and district calendars now: Tuesday, October 16, 2001, or Saturday, October 20, 2001.
Look for Score Report Plus in 2001
In 2001, you will see a significant change in the student score report. The Score Report Plus provides a totally new design, created with the assistance of students, parents, teachers, and counselors. The report will feature user-friendly organization, graphic representations to assist with understanding, and an entirely new section to help students easily identify some verbal, math, and writing skills in which they need to improve.
The new "Improve Your Skills" section will provide specific, personalized skills that need improvement based upon a student's responses across all the test questions that contain that skill. Also included will be suggestions (created by English and math teachers) on how to improve in these skills and references to test questions that actually reflect the skills (and that the student answered incorrectly). Teachers feel this section will be especially valuable for sophomores, as they will have time to work on these skills before entering college. An additional benefit for sophomores this year will be specific sophomore percentiles (rather than the current junior percentiles) providing sophomores with a comparison of their performance with that of their peers.